TMNT: Jane's Story
by tineabean11
Summary: The Purple Dragons are becoming more open in their attacks against the citizens of New York, but our reptilian heroes can't seem to catch them - That is, until a young girl decides to step in when she happens across a mugging. Who knew an act of kindness on her part would lead to her meeting four of the strangest heroes she'd ever heard of?
1. Chapter 1

**_Hello everyone! I'd like to firstly apologize for not having this up sooner, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and therefore, proofreading is an extremely long process. For the most part, the beginning of the story is the same with a few minor differences, but I'm still struggling with what I've recently written, so any suggestions on where to go with this next would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!_**

 ** _Oh! And I don't own TMNT or the turtles! Just Jane!_**

"Cowabunga bros!" The green teen yelled, leaping high into air, and landing on the tattered old couch in style. You'd never know looking at the young and silly orange masked turtle, but he was easily the stealthiest of the four ninja brothers. He grabbed the remote and turned on the news, a habit they all had picked up with the recent crime spike.

"Mikey, what did I say about that stupid catchphrase?" The red-clad turtle threatened, fist raised.

"Oh, leave him be Raph." Purple banded eyes rolled in exasperation as they returned to their main focus - fixing the toaster that had been mutilated by Leo's most recent attempt to "cook".

"Donnie, why don't you just mind your toaster?"

"Well why don't _you_ …"

"Guys, it's time for patrol." Leo cut in. He was more than used to this kind of behavior from his brothers, and wasn't in the mood to join in on their playful banter. The Purple Dragons were getting more bold in their attacks on the public. Six cases of muggings/robberies and attacks in the past two days, and three of them ended with the victims in need of a hospital. Then there was all of the disappearances. Teens and young adults, all with martial arts backgrounds, had been disappearing throughout the city. Most of them with trouble at home or no home at all.

"... Witnesses continue to describe men and women from the notorious gang known as "The Purple Dragons" as their attackers, discernible by their trademark tattoos, excessive piercings, and eccentric hair. Police are giving no new information as to the progress on the case of the attacks and the disappearances. Young people across the city are taking precautions in protecting themselves. Sales of tasers, pepper spray, and even firearms have skyrocketed in the past three weeks alone."

Leo and the others turn to see the blond reporter looking out of the numerous TV screens, a worried crease between her perfectly plucked brows. "We're here live in front of the most recent break in, and I have here Police Chief Adams. Chief, what would you say to the young people of New York in reference to their attempts at protection?" A pudgy man, dressed in a chief's uniform, turned around from his heated conversation with a young detective.

"I encourage the young people of New York to take their safety seriously, and take steps toward their own protection. Let these lawless punks know that you're not willing to roll over and submit." The camera's angle allowed the viewers to see the young detective throw up his hands in the background and stormed off. Chief Adams sauntered off to the next waiting reporter, slicking back his over-greased hair and adjusting his belt.

The camera focused in on the reporter again. "There you have it folks, a dangerous gang out for young blood and law enforcement egging on our inexperienced youth in stopping them. Where will this homefront battle end? Keep your TV's set to Channel 4 and we'll keep you posted."

Leo clicked off the screen and they all filed out after him without a word. Looked like another long night hunting down Purple Dragons.

 _ **Sorry it's so short, next chapter will be up in a jiff.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I don't own TMNT, as much as I wish I did.**_

Jane was never one for the spotlight. She hated being on stage, and hated being on a field. Both gave others the opportunity to come and watch as you tripped over your words and your feet. No matter what her mother tried, there wasn't a club, sport, or team that Jane would be a part of.

Just when she had almost given up all hope, the answer to her prayers arrived in the form of her sister's spoiled son who was just a year older than Jane.

Danny was an only child and was given everything his fickle little heart desired. The summer of Jane's fourth grade year, he was insistent on becoming a world famous ninja. The new Karate Kid movie had just come out and he was "inspired".

As much as Jane's mother knew Danny wouldn't last the summer before becoming bored, she saw in this latest "dream" of his as the possible answer to her daughter's problem. Not a week passed before Jane was in a white karategi and learning to kick through plywood. Unlike all the other activities she had tried, Jane just couldn't quit ninjutsu. She had fallen in love, and she couldn't care less if people watched.

That was eight years ago, and now Jane was seventeen and her world was a very different place. At twelve, her mother, father and younger brother had all died in a violent car crash on their way to the movies. She would have been there too if she hadn't been grounded for sneaking out to be with her friend.

She had run away from her first foster home after the dad tried to hit her. She grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back, spraining it in the process. He had raved and screamed at her as she packed, but didn't dare touch her again.

She bounced around the city, mostly staying in the trees in Central Park, or abandoned warehouses. Whenever possible, she would practice her fighting, reveling in the one thing she loved above all else. The one thing that wasn't taken from her, that is.

The weather was turning cold, and she had yet to fully recover from a recent illness. Knowing that the winter would be better spent indoors- and preferably somewhere with a heater- she'd gone in search of temporary living quarters. So, she now lived in a place called "The Tenth Ring". It was a local fight club and the owner let her sleep in the back room on a cot if she bussed tables every night.

Her first night she had put her head down and kept to herself… Until some jerk decided to try and grab her butt. She had him on the ground with a knife to his throat in seconds. The man had almost wet his pants, and Jane had expected to be thrown out on her rear, but, instead, the manager, Ben, kicked out the man she had pined, and simply told her that knifes weren't allowed.

Two nights later, a pompous guy had dared her to meet him in the ring, claiming that she had only been able to take down his buddy because she had surprised him and he was drunk.

Accepting the challenge, Jane entered the ring and fought the guy with little effort, easily bringing him down. Cheering rose from the crowd and she shrunk back out of the spotlights when she realized that she had been watched, but she was soon forced back into the ring when she was challenged again and again. Thirteen times that first night and not one loss. After that, she had at least one challenge a night, and had yet to lose. The crowd knew her and came together whenever she entered the ring and would gather to watch, but Jane had learned to block them out and lose herself in the fight. If only her mom could see her now.

Most of her opponents were street jerks looking to teach her a "lesson", but every once in awhile she would face a true fighter in the ring. And sometimes it would even end in a draw, both bowing respectfully to each other. Those were the fights she lived for.

 **Another short one. Reviews are always appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**I don't own TMN, but Jane is mine, and she's pretty cool too right?**_

"Ok, so last night, we covered the east side, tonight it's the west." The group of four turtles plus one hockey-masked human were on a rooftop and all listening to Leo lay out the plan for the night's excursions.

"Raph, you go forty houses down to the right. Donnie, twenty goes fourty to the left, and Mikey you go twenty to the left. I'll keep with this one." He gestured in the general direction with each instruction. "We'll keep in a straight line going south until either one of us calls in with news, or it's four O'clock. In that case, we all turn around and meet up at the lair. Understood?"

Raph grunted and rushed off to the right, counting houses as he went. Normally, Mikey would have complained and made some stupid joke, and he, Raph the hothead, would have resisted Leo's commands in every way possible. But the situation being as it was, they didn't want to waste any time in the possibility of finding some Purple Dragons.

Raph continued on for almost an hour, his eyes and ears sweeping the area for anything out of the ordinary when a faint scream reached out to him from the right. He grabbed his shell cell and punched the button for "call all".

"I heard a scream, on the east side of Central Park." He didn't wait for them to answer before hanging up and continuing on after the scream.

* * *

Ben had given her the night off and she didn't really know what to do with it. Most girls would go to the mall or the movies with their friends or their boyfriends, but Jane had neither of those, so she just ended up wandering the streets and enjoying the cool night air.

She was walking by a dark alley when she heard a woman's terrified sobs and a man's gruff voice. She crept over to the edge of the wall, doing a quick check of the sheaths that carried her mismatched throwing knives she'd gathered over the years before inching closer to assess the situation before her.

"Just hand over the bag sugar plum and no one gets hurt." The man was holding a gun to the woman's temple with one hand and grabbing at the purse she clutched with the other. They were both facing the wall to Jane's left, the shadow cast by the moon hiding any telling features about the man.

The woman kept evading his reach and he was really getting frustrated. Jane knew that if she didn't act fast, this woman was likely going to get herself killed. What was it with people and their need to cling to their belongings when being robbed? Was it really worth their lives?

Jane shook her head and began to ease toward the man and woman.

"Last chance girlie…" he growled as she moved the bag from his reach yet again.

"Perhaps you should try to intimidate someone your own skill level, I saw a rat scurry down the road just a moment ago, could help you find it if you want." Jane couldn't keep the taunt from slipping past her lips… she'd been hanging out at the club too much.

"Who's there?" He dropped the girl and she fell against the ground with a cry. The mystery man jumped into the silver moon's light, eyes searching for her, and Jane saw that he had a long, bright green mohawk that drooped over the the right of his face, brushing his overly pierced eyebrows. There was a large tattoo that ran along his neck, but she couldn't quite make it out.

Jane slipped into the light herself and the man started to laugh.

"Girl, you must be either really brave, or really stupid." He raised his gun, the barrel lining up with her chest and Jane smirked. He looked confused, then angry, pulling the trigger, but she'd already gone, leaping at him to kick the firearm from his hand. The blow knocked him onto his rear-dazing him.

Jane took the chance to help the frightened girl up from the ground. "Go!" she yelled, the girl's wide eyes darting between her and the man on the ground before she took off in the other direction, quick as a frightened rabbit.

Too busy watching the girl to be sure she got out of the alley, Jane didn't notice the man reach into his pocket and push a button on the small device he pulled out.

"Now, as for you…" She turned around to find he'd already gotten to his feet, holding a long chain in both hands. The end nearest the floor was attached to a scythe-like weapon - looking like a crude, homemade kusarigama. He began to swing it around, sparks flying as it grazed the ground.

 _So that's how he want's to play._ She shrugged, pulling out twin knives from their sheaths in the back of her belt. "Let's Dance." She said, smirking, and advanced.

The swinging blade narrowly missed her as she ducked to avoid decapitation. They battled for a few minutes, her trying to get in close, and his spinning blade countering her attempts, before she notices that he's holding back, keeping on the defensive, and trying to turn them so she was cornered. She corrected their path to allow for escape.

"Stalling, are we?" she grunted, a lucky blow slicing a shallow line across her cheek.

"Clever Girl." He smirked. She began to back up, not wanting to continue and allow any friends he may have to show up, but as she turned to run, a hulking mass of muscle with a blond braid stepped into her path.

"Hun, took you long enough." The first man remarked, receiving a cowing glare from the muscle-man. Jane backed up slowly, sizing up her new opponent while looking for escape routes.

"Ain't no escaping me girlie." The one called Hun said. His voice was deep and rough. Typical bad guy.

"Or so you think." Jane turned and sprinted toward the fire escape to her right, the two men closing in from either side. She leaped up, almost grasped the bottom rung of the ladder when a large hand engulfed her leg, dragging her back, using her own momentum to swing her around and into the brick wall opposite them.

Stars crowded her vision, and she shook her head, attempting to clear it. She squints, seeing only two blobs, and they were multiplying. Her sight returned gradually, and the blobs began to form men. Five more than the original two.

Scrambling to her feet and blinking to shake off the last of her daze, Jane shakily slipped into a fighting stance.

"Give up now girl, and make it easier on yourself." Hun chuckled.

Jane remained silent and simply stared at him, fists raised and ready.

"Very well." He sighed, moving toward her. In a flash, she jumped on his back and tried to grab at the giant gun slung around his arm. He grabbed her ponytail, and yanked. A ragged scream was torn from her throat and she swung blindly with a blade she pulled from her boot.

He yelled, dropping her to the floor, her head smacking hard on the concrete.

"You'll pay for that!" Through the tears, Jane spotted a rough, ragged red line running down his right cheek. Symmetrical to three old scars that marred the left.

Two men grab her under her arms to hoist her up. She swayed, having no choice but to lean on them for support as the world spun.

"Master Shredder can do without this one." Hun said, as he picked up his gun to point it at her hung head.

"Night, night." He laughed, pulling the trigger.

 _ **Review pretty please with ninja-turtle-shaped-sprinkles on top?**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I, unfortunately don't own TMNT. Pitty.**_

Raph reached the lip of the alleyway where the scream had originated and looked down to see a small group of Purple Dragons surrounding a human girl no older than him and his brothers. He watched as she flung herself at Hun, flinching when her hair was yanked, but laughed under his breath when she cut him with her blade.

Raph couldn't help but be impressed at her spunk and skill, but she was in real trouble. He fought his instincts to remain where he was and assess the situation before jumping in as Splinter had taught him, but when Hun drew his gun on the girl, he couldn't keep from acting. His body moved of it's own accord, jumping down from the roof and aiming a kick at the large man right below him.

* * *

The gun's fire zinged around the alley, pinging off the lid of a trash can before disappearing into the suddenly silent night. No one spoke a word as Jane's mysterious savior straightened and faced the group. The two men holding her loosened their grip and she yanked herself from their grasp. She stumbled forward and the mystery man reached out to grasp her arm and prevent her from falling, but he had left the shadows to do so.

She gasped along with her attackers, the being before them was most certainly not human, there was no such thing as a costume that life-like.

His face (for she assumed it was a he) was covered in a red mask that made her think of old Zorro cartoons she used to watch with her little brother before the accident, but she could still tell that he was around her age.

They stared at each other, his vivid green eyes pleading for acceptance of his appearance. As if she would run away from the guy that had just saved her life! She didn't even have to think before nodding. He grinned and reached for her other arm, helping her to straighten up, before returning to the situation at hand.

"Hey Hun, whatcha doin' out with a bunch of greenies?" His voice was gruff but light, as if he was mocking the blond giant with the utmost machoness. "These cowards look like their gonna piss themselves." He dismissively gestured at the six young men wide eyed, and huddled in around of their leader.

Hun shoved the gaping Dragons aside approaching the two, Jane's green warrior moved in front of her, as if to shield her from the mass of a man.

"Well well well, a turtle at last. We were beginning to think you lot had given up trying to compete with us." Hun laughed and the "turtle" growled deep in his throat, unholstering two sais from their place at his sides, blades flashing in the moon's light as he spun them aggressively.

"Well I found you now meathead." He snarked. Hun glared, and pulled out a thick pipe from where it was looped through his belt. Beating it rhythmically against his palm, and glaring at the two.

They traded glances, knowing in an instant that the other had the exact same idea. The turtle (she really needed to learn his name) nodded at Jane and, grinning, she nodded back. She leaped against the wall behind her, using it to launch herself into the fray of skittish boys with tattoos. She couldn't help but giggle at the way they all scrambled out of the way.

Landing amongst them, she pulled more two knives from their place at her hips, and crouched into a fighting stance. The guy she had fought when she first entered the alley, seems to shake himself from his daze. He straightened, shoving the others around him, getting them to focus. They do so, but with less fervor than he. They pull out a variety of weapons. Several pipes, chains and switch blades are pointed in her direction. She glanced at their stances and noted their holds on their weapons. She grinned. _This is gonna be a piece of cake_.

The first one didn't even see her coming, her shoe making a nice imprint on his face before he fell limp to the ground. The third and fourth were the same, a little effort and they're both down.

"Looks like you guys could stand to spend some time in The Tenth Ring… even the losers there could teach you a thing or two." Her laugh was cut short when she realized that she was actually enjoying pummeling these guys into the ground. A quote from her first Ninjutsu teacher ran through her mind - "Ninjutsu is for the defence of yourself and others. It is not to be used in hate, anger, or revenge. A true master does not enjoy the pain of his opponent, he only seeks knowledge and the protection of himself and others in each fight."

Jane paused, recollecting herself with a deep breath and prepared to face her next opponent. He fell like the rest, but she pays his fallen form no mind as she turned to the one that had started this crazy night.

He took one look at her, and seemed to know that despite all the beatings she had taken from Hun, she was ready to go all night if needed. Looking around at his fallen comrades, he came to a decision. Dropping his chain, he pulled out a gun and aimed it at her chest, ready for her quick attack this time around.

"Cheater." Jane mumbled, dropping her knives and backing up toward the fight that was raging between her knight in shining green and the large Purple Dragon.

"Forget the girl! Shoot him!" Jane whipped her head around to see that her new friend had pinned Hun down and was holding his sais to his opponent's throat.

The gunman changed his target without thought, and shot.

"No!" In the space of a few moments, Jane came to a decision. This strange person had saved her life, had fought by her side. She wouldn't stand by and watch him die without doing _something_. Her body seemed to know what she was thinking before she did. Her mind was still processing the pros and cons of her actions as she leaped in front of the gun's line of fire.

"No!" A gruff cry echoed her own, accompanied by a searing, white-hot pain that tore through her side. Her vision blurred and everything began to fade. She was unconscious before she even hit the ground.

 ** _This is probably one of my favorite/most intense chapters, it's the point of the story when things really begin to pick up, and I really like how it turned out. Review please!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_I don't own TMNT, but I sure do love them! :)_**

Raph couldn't keep from smiling, even as he faced off with Hun. _She's not afraid of me! She didn't run, or scream, or even flinch when I grabbed her hand!_ Looking over, he saw that she was handling herself just fine, despite the two large lumps that was forming on the side of her head, one still glistening with red. _Have to get Donnie to look at that..._

"Looks like you guys could stand to spend some time in The Tenth Ring… Even the losers there could teach you a thing or two." He grinned. Her bad guy banter was pretty good too… A sharp pain formed on the right side of his head, looking over, he saw that he had let his guard down, allowing Hun to get a good whack in with his pipe.

"Distracted Turtle?" He laughed as he swung again. "Looks like you've taken a liking to that one… Gonna enjoy killing _her_." An evil grin took over his features and he raised the pipe over his head for another jab. As it came down, Raph's hand flashed out to grasp it, and he used it as leverage to bring Hun to his knees. Raph then kicked Hun in the chest, sending him sprawling. He was on him in a heartbeat, his sais to his opponent's throat in such a manner as to keep him from moving in any way.

Raph blinked away the red from his vision, wondering why the thought of Hun lying even a finger on the girl bothered him so much. He'd just met her, and it was already like how he felt for his family, or April and Casey…

"Forget the girl! Shoot him!" Raph turned in time to see the gun that was pointed at the girl turn to him. "No!" The girl's desperate cry was drowned out by the gun going off and Raph's eyes widened. It was too late for even a ninja to avoid the bullet headed for him… But then it had a new target.

"No!" He yelled, tossing Hun aside. He rushed over to pick up the girl's limp form from the ground, and dashed up the fire escape. He could hear Hun cursing and calling after him as he leaped from one rooftop to the next, clinging to the girl when he felt a wetness begin to form against his arm.

He looked down to see a dark stain blooming across her front. "Shell." he muttered, awkwardly reaching around her to grab at his shell cell, pushing "call all" button once again.

"Raph!" Leo's voice scolded from the other end. "Where are you? We've been looking everywhere!"

"I told ya where!" He grumped.

" "East of Central Park" is a big area bro…" Mikey's voice cut in.

Raph sighed and jogged over to the ledge of the roof he was currently on, reading the street signs out loud. "Guys, I'm at the roof on the corner of east 107th and 5th. Donnie, can you treat a bullet wound with that first aid kit of yours?"

"Yes? Are… are you hit Raph?!"

"Not me, the girl."

"Girl?" Donnie asked

"What girl?" Leo said simultaneously.

"Just get here as soon as you can." He didn't wait for them to pester him more before hanging up and looking back to the girl in his arms.

He set her down on the wide ledge of the roof and turned his attention to the blood that was already beginning to stain the concrete around her. He took off his mask and tied it tight around her side for pressure. He then placed his hand on her head. "I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"Sorry for what, Raph? You eat my ice cream again?" Casey's voice was slightly muffled by his signature hockey mask.

Raph turned round and faced his best friend, moving away from the girl so Casey could see her.

"Damn Raph, is this the only way you can get a girl? By finding one that's half dead?" Casey chuckled nervously, obviously uncomfortable at the sight.

Raph gave him a half hearted smile and returned his attention to the girl. Casey kneeled down beside him, and slid his mask onto the top of his head.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice unusually soft

"Hun and a group of dragons got 'er in an alley. She held her own and even sliced Hun's face open, so they gave up trying to capture her and pulled a gun. That's when I jumped in. Literally." He chuckled, thinking back to the dumb look on Hun's face as he fell from the sky, looking to kick some purple loser butt. "I had pinned Hun and one of the newbie Dragons pulled a gun on me… She jumped in the way." He hung his head.

"Just like that? Raph, she doesn't even know you! _I'd_ hesitate to take a bullet for ya." He punched Raph in the arm. They grinned, then turned back to the girl, expressions sombre.

"Yo! Raphie boy!" Mikey shouted as he flipped up onto the roof. "You ok, bro? I heard something about a bullet wound."

"And a girl." Leo cut in as he and Donnie appeared less ostentatiously behind their hyperactive brother.

"She's over here Don, and she's lost a lot of blood." Casey and Raph moved out of the way as Donnie approached, taking his med kit out with one hand and passing his bo staff off to Rahp with the other.

He knelt down at the girl's side and slowly removed Raph's mask and her layers from around her middle. He sighed at the gaping hole that marred her light skin... And at the loud thud behind him that signaled Mikey's faint. For a ninja, he was a little too squeamish around blood.

"We need to get her back to the lab pronto. Casey, go get April and meet us there, I could use some help stitching her up." Casey nodded and was off in a flash, glad to be of some use.

Donnie then turned and was about to pick up the now very pale girl when he was almost shoved out of the way by Raph as he rushed to be the one to carry her. Donnie eyed him for a moment before shrugging and gesturing for Raph to follow him home. (Though he had to first pick up his staff from where it had been abandoned in Raph's haste.) They passed Leo as he lightly smacked at Mikey's cheek, jarring him awake.

"Who? What?" The orange ninja blustered, looking around in confusion.

"Time to go Mikey." Leo gestured for him to follow, and they both jumped after Raph and Donnie into the night.

 _ **Have you guys heard PTX's "We are ninjas"? I LOVE IT SO MUCH! (Though I love anything Pentatonix does anyway...) Anyway, I've been listening to it constantly while writing this.**_

 _ **"For everybody coming hungry**_  
 _ **Hey, and we're hungry**_  
 _ **Donatello needs a masterpiece of pizza**_  
 _ **Fueling up the four**_  
 _ **Shredder tries to beat ya**_  
 _ **Splinter teach us how to bring the thunder**_  
 _ **Kow-a-bunga"  
**_

 _ **As always... REVIEW!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**I don't own TMNT...**_

The rhythmic dripping of water into a puddle sounded throughout the room, and Jane's heavy eyes cracked open slowly. Blurred lights slowly came into focus, revealing a room that resembled a lab, but all the equipment was makeshift, as if it had been pieced together from junkyard scraps.

She lifted her head slowly, releasing a groan at the bolts of pain that ran through her entire being. Using her arms to prop herself up, she swayed on the spot for a moment before focusing more closely on her surroundings. The walls were stone, reminiscent of the subways that webbed around the city, but a little different. These were a mix of teal and tan, morphing together in way that was almost ancient.

She was on a crude hospital bed, a thin patched mat on top of a metal table. There was an IV drip connected to her wrist, the bag hanging near the head of the bed. Stifling another groan, she shifted to let her feet hang over the bed. Taking a deep breath, she slowly let herself down to the cold floor, grabbing tight to the edge of the bed when her body shook, threatening to dump her to the ground.

She shivered, and reached for the end of her deep blue jacket to wrap herself in, but found it was missing, no to mention, half of her shirt was missing as well. Her favorite grey ACDC t-shirt was cut above her bellybutton, and the would- be exposed stomach was tightly wrapped in cream bandages.

Her left side bulged out twice as far as her right, and she softly prodded it to find a thick layer of gauze and a sharp twinge of pain at her probing fingers, no matter how soft. After checking over the rest of her body and finding nothing more than the normal scrapes, bumps and bruises, she began to think of where she might be.

"I remember the fight… and that turtle? He was fighting the big guy. I was fighting another one… and he pulled out a gun… and…" She stared down at her aching side with new understanding.

"Breathe Jane, just breathe." She mumbled, trying to avoid panic and hyperventilation. There were only two possible people that could have taken her from that alley, and even though she had fought alongside one of them, she wasn't sure that either of them were really her friend.

"I have to get out of here… wherever 'here' is." She started for the door when a shadow passed over it and began to grow, signaling someone, or something's, approach. She grabbed a metal rod from the cluttered tabletop of what looked like scraps near her, and moved to hide behind a large wardrobe-like piece of furniture, nearer to the door. An IV tugged painfully at her arm, anchoring her to a cumbersome trolley that would easily give away her hiding place. She took a deep breath before pulling it out and had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming. Once it was out, she shuffled as quickly as her wrecked body would allow out of sight to the corner she'd chosen, and peeked around the wooden wardrobe enough to see the door.

It opened, letting in a green figure that resembled the one from before, but this one had a purple band across his eyes and was much leaner than the other she had fought with.

He was focusing on some papers on a clipboard and didn't notice her absence until he reached the bed. He did a double take and dropped the clipboard, eyes sweeping the lab.

"Hello?" His voice was lighter than the other one's, and it cracked slightly. "Miss.? Are you there?" He spun around, scanning the area until his eyes rested on her crouching figure in the shadows holding the metal rod defensively in front of her, and staring at him with guarded eyes.

"Who are you? Where am I? Where's the red one that fought with me?" She was beginning to shake and knew she wouldn't hold in a fight, but wanted to get what she could out of the stranger before she fainted.

"I'll answer all of your questions, but first we really need to get you back on the bed… Wait, did you pull out your IV?" He stared at the abandoned needle on the floor and then then at the exhausted yet resolute girl ready to fight her way out. "Is there any chance I can get you to come out now so I can check your vitals?"

Her only answer was to tighten her grip on the makeshift weapon. "That's what I thought…" Sighing, he headed towards the door with a "be right back" thrown over his shoulder.

She craned her neck, and after seeing no sign of him, took the opportunity to grab a nearby stool and drag it over to where she was sitting. She then perched on the chair, glad for the support.

The door burst open, and seven people bustled in. The first was the purple one, then came the red one, then a… rat? Okay… a rat. Behind the rat came two more green guys, one blue and one orange. Then, surprisingly, two humans. A guy in a workout outfit and a redhead girl.

They all gathered around her at a distance, and she stared at each one for a while, eyes wide. The purple one stepped forward, but stopped when she huddled further into her corner.

"Miss? As to the first of your questions, who are we? Well…" He rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the others for help and the redhead stepped forward.

"To make a very long and complicated story short, they are mutant turtles. This is Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey." She pointed to each of the color coded turtles in turn, and Jane's eyes lingered on Raph. _Guess I finally know the name of my rescuer._ She cracked a small smile at him and he returned it, punching the one called Mikey when he make a kissy face at them.

"And this is their Ninjutsu teacher and father, Master Splinter." The old rat bowed at his name and approached her, getting about 4 feet away before stopping and bowing again.

"I am sorry for the trauma you have faced child, and I cannot thank you enough for saving my son." She glanced at Raph and he scowled at her, as if angry at her for putting herself at risk. She gave him a "what was I to do" shrug, and he responded by marching right over. He didn't stop until he was right in her face. She halfheartedly lifted the metal rod to fend him off, but he just yanked it away.

"What were you thinking? I could have gotten away in time! Why'd you have to act like such a bonehead?!" At his words, she stopped cowering in any way and got off her seat. She almost lost her balance and had to smack Raph's hand away before grabbing the edge of the stool with both hands to steady herself.

"First off, no, you would not have been able to avoid that bullet. Ninja or not." She let go of the chair with one hand so she could use it to viciously point at the dumb turtle-boy. "And second, I think I was trying to return the favor of you saving my life. Third? I wasn't the bonehead who let some roid-pumping gang leader get the drop on me… Well, um, yes I did, but you should have known better… because you're some kind of superhero, right?" Raph stared at her. Never before had a human acted so calm and _normal_ to him and his family right off the bat. Even Casey and April took some time to get used to them. (Especially April. She fainted, like, three times.)

"You have rendered my hot-headed son speechless. A technique you will have to share with me." Master Splinter stepped in front of Raph and placed a paw on her arm, chuckling at Raph's and the other's baffled faces, for they all were staring at her in awe. Jane laughed a little too, relaxing a bit, suddenly feeling comfortable in the old rat's presence.

"Now, I know that you are nervous and in a strange place, but my son Donatello needs to examine you. Especially after all this excitement." She hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded, allowing Master Splinter to assist her to the bed. Raph appeared at her side and gave her a sheepish smile before helping her up, while Donnie replaced the IV.

Jane hissed and grabbed Raph's hand as the large needle was inserted. He squeezed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Alright now, everyone except April out until we've looked her over and changed the bandages." Donnie made a shooing motion and April closed the door behind the Mikey's retreating back.

"Now, how do you feel… Um, actually, we never asked your name…" He looked a little embarrassed for having forgotten, but Jane smiled reassuringly.

"My name's Jane."

"Nice to meet you Jane." They awkwardly shook hands as April giggled at their formality.

"Now that that's over with, let's get you cleaned up." Jane nodded and raised her arms above her head to give April better access to the bandages.

 _ **Hi everybody! -Hi Dr. Nick!- (Sorry, I've been watching too much Simpsons, and I couldn't resist) Thanks for reading, I hope that everything is flowing better after the editing (I think it is anyway...) As always, REVIEW!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**This chapter are a little short and fractured, but it has a place in the story, I swear!**_

 _ **I don't own TMNT**_ _ ***Sigh*...**_

The living room was full of awkward guys. Leo and Mikey were quietly playing a videogame that would normally have them jumping on the couch and yelling at one another. Across the room, Raph and Casey were hand to hand sparing, and Raph wasn't holding back, hitting with all his strength and frustration. Casey, having dealt with this side of Raph before, simply blocked and dodged, allowing his friend to let off some steam. Periodically, everyone would glance at the lab door, watching and waiting.

About forty five minutes after they had been introduced to the mystery girl, Donnie walked out, wiping his hands on a red stained towel.

"What happened?" Leo was at the head of the pack that rushed toward Donnie, begging for answers. He held up his hands, warding off any more of the questions he could see bubbling to the surface.

"Her wound reopened when she was moving around in the lab. We had to clean it up and fix some of the stitches." He tossed the towel into a hamper that rested against the wall, usually used for their sweat towels.

"How is she?" Raph was clenching his fists, obviously in need of a good punching bag to counter the stress.

"The bullet didn't hit any organs and it was a clean hit, went right through. She'll be able to start trying to move around in about a week." Raph sighed and released the tension in his fists. April walked out, and walked right over to Raph.

"She's weak and we gave her some medicine that will make her drowsy, but she asked to see you." She whispered it into his ear, but everyone was close enough that they all heard it. He started towards the lab, but was stopped but April's hand on his arm.

"I almost forgot to tell you, she told us that her name was Jane." He nodded and they all watched as he walked through the door, then turned to April and Donnie, begging for more information on the mystery girl in their home.

* * *

Hun really hated his master's lair, but he would chose it over Stockman's lab any day. The whole room resembled a hospital, except for the people floating in a green substance contained in giant tubes. He shuddered as he passed a former purple dragon who had spoken out against The Shredder. Now he was sporting a Gecko head and two extra arms.

"Ah, Hun old buddy, how'd the hunt go tonight? I hear you had a little situation with the target near the park… Shredder won't be happy she got away." Stockman's robo legs scurried across the metal table top and stopped at the edge, allowing the still-human head to leer at him with superiority. What Hun wouldn't give to knock him onto his titanium…

"Hun!" He cringed at the sound of Shredder's voice. Taking a breath, he straightened and turned to bow.

"Yes, my master?"

"Where is the girl? You reported cornering her in an alley. Was a little girl too hard for you to capture?" The kimono-clad oriental man stood, his back to Hun, but his body language was enough to know that he was very displeased.

"There were… complications."

"What kind of complications?"

"One of the turtles…"

"TURTLES!" Shredder's fist slammed into the small decorative table that rested against the back wall, shattering it. "Those turtles have interfered for the last time!" Hun instantly nodded, but couldn't help reflecting on all the other times he'd heard the exact same declaration from his master.

"What is your will, my master?" Shredder straightened and smoothed over his kimono and hair before turning around to answer.

"Bring me the boy."

 _ **Alright, I can't say that this is exactly "cool" of me, but I've decided not to post any more chapters until I get some reviews. I still have to work through a writer's block I've got going on with the latest editions, but there still plenty to post until then. I'm taking a breather and seeing if anyone is actually reading this... Anyway, don't be too mad at me (If there is indeed anyone there to be mad), but I won't forget you.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**_Sorry for the late update. I think I've finally hit a break through with the story though, so more to follow.  
_**

 ** _I don't own TMNT..._**

She was standing in a dark forest. The world blurry and distant.

"Janie! Janie, where are you?!" Her mother's voice was far off and frantic.

"Mom?" To think that she hadn't heard her mother's voice in five years. It sounded just like she remembered.

"Momma? Where are you?!"

"Janie!" Her mother's voice was fading, further and further, but no matter how hard she tried, Jane just couldn't move her legs. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't chase after the woman who had raised her, loved her, sung her songs at night to get her to sleep.

"Janie…" She had to strain her ears just to hear the fading sound of her mother's voice.

"Momma…. No." She fell to the ground, the only action allowed her other than screaming, and sobbed into the dirt.

"Hey, um...Jane? Jane it's alright. You're alright." Large hands grasped her shoulders, gently shaking her. She sat up with a gasp, both from the shock of being woken up and the pain of disturbing her wounds.

"It's ok, just breathe, you need lay back down." Her wild eyes found Raph's as his hand brushed her matted hair away from her face.

"You were crying out in your sleep for your mom… do you need to call her? Let her know that you're alright?" Even after all her hair was pushed back, his thumb continued to absentmindedly trace her forehead. She turned away from him, attempting to hide the sudden tears threatening to fall.

"There's no one to call. I'm on my own." She whispered

"Oh." He shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the turn in conversation. " I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry. Not your fault." She remained facing the wall, her back to him, refusing to let him see how much it still affected her.

He watched her chest rise and fall, not knowing what to do. Eventually, her breath evened out and she started to lightly snore. Sighing, he reached out to pat her shoulder on his way out of the lab, but stopped.

What are you doing Raph? This softy crap is for your brothers, not you! You're the tough one, act like it! He pulled back his hand, staring at it for a moment before shaking himself, replacing his signature "tough guy" look, and left the lab.

* * *

When she woke up, Raph was gone. Probably because you started blubbering like a baby, you big dope. She sighed, and spent the next twenty minutes trying to stand up.

* * *

*** Two days Later ***

* * *

"Mikey, move your shell out of the way before I move it for you!" Despite his brother's threatening fist waving around his head, Mikey held his ground, arms spread resolutely out to his sides, refusing his big brother passage through the hallway beyond.

"Jane said that she didn't want to see you, bro! And she put me in charge of guardin' the door! I take that very seriously ya know." He tried to look grown up while jumping from side to side like a frog, in an effort to block Raph's attempts.

Raph was out early in the morning two days after the incident, spending some quality time with his favorite punching bag, when the door to Don's lab creaked open. He stopped mid-punch and watched as Jane's head poked out and her eyes swept the living area, missing him in the shadows. She then limped out and did quite well staying on her feet until she reached the four steps that led down to the pond and small bridge that dominated the large room. He watched as she contemplated them for a moment, then crouched down and sat on the first step. She scooted her tender body down each step, only a few muffled hisses of pain escaping her lips.

She looked very proud of herself when she reached the bottom step, and gathered herself up into a standing position. The self satisfied grin was still in place when she started to fall. Her cry of pain at hitting the ground, wounded side first, was anything but muffled, and within moments, the entire household was out of their rooms, looking for the sound's source.

Raph was the first to reach her. His hands under her arms, lifting her up but moments after she hit. He helped her over the the tattered couch, barely having positioned her before he was pushed aside by Donnie.

"Jane, what were you thinking? I told you that you were too weak to walk on your own yet…" He scolded while lifting her shirt to asses the damage.

"I was doing fine! I just stood up too fast, ask Raph, he saw…" She, and everyone else turned their eyes to him. He realized that she had figured out that he was there the whole time, and was now hoping that he would bail her out, tell everyone that she was just fine.

"I…" He looked at her, side blooming with renewed blood and decided that helping her wouldn't really be helpful to her in her condition. Besides he really had to stop acting so nice, so… Donnie.

He sighed. "Look, you may have made it halfway across the room, but you had to crawl around on the ground just to get down four wide steps!" He gestured at her reddening bandages for effect.

"What are you talking about? Do you actually expect me to believe, for any of us to believe, that you wouldn't do all you could to get off your butt as soon as you could, Mr. Tough Guy?" Her eyes were swimming with hurt and betrayal.

"You ain't a ninja like me! I've had to heal fast and ignore a little pain countless of times so I could get back topside and protect little guys like you…" Her look of hurt changed to anger.

"Little guys like me? A little pain?!"

"I didn't mean..."

"No, that's exactly what you meant! You know, I've been a fighter all my life too! I've had countless sprains, bruises and broken bones! And I didn't have anyone like Donnie around! I know how to deal with pain. I just don't do well when I'm forced to sit idly by and twiddle my thumbs! I thought you of all people would understand that!" Donnie had to put his hands on her shoulders to keep her from getting up in order to better yell at his now very red brother, who looked embarrassed, yet ready to blow at any moment

They stared at one another, waiting to see what the other would do. And, after, a moment, Jane narrowed her eyes. She had come to a decision about the turtle in front of her. He was just as stubborn as she was.

"Fine. Donnie, will you help me to the lab?" Donnie deftly nodded, wanting to stay out of their way, but knowing that their new friend was still severely injured.

Raph huffed and stormed off, and she resolutely turned her face into Donnie's plastron, though, neither of them really knew why they were angry.

Leo, Don, and Master Splinter all shared a look.

"What's their problem?" Mikey asked pointing after Raph's retreating shell.

"We'll… tell you when you're older." Leo assured him, giving his shoulder a pat and having no real confidence in Mikey ever reaching a point in his life where he could be considered "older". But that's just how Mikey was, and they all loved him for it.

That was yesterday, and Jane was still refusing to see Raph. She couldn't even explain to herself why he got under her skin, all she knew was that she had to prove him wrong about her being just a "little guy" from the surface.

So here she was, once again, on the floor after another failed attempt at walking across the room on her own (Her health had taken a step back after the fall). She had been there for a while, contemplating her ridiculous situation, when Leo walked in carrying a tray of food.

He quickly set it down and rushed over to pick her up, but she waved him off, only allowing him to lend his arm for support. It took a few minutes, but she got to the bed on her own, and she couldn't help grinning.

Leo brought her the tray, and sat beside her on the bed watching her eat, lost in thought.

"Wha' on your mine' 'Lo?" Her mouth was full, but, sometimes all the years with Mikey paid off.

"How you're never going to give up, even if it kills you."

"Behr' believe it'." She nudged him with her shoulder and he grinned. He could see a bit of each of his brothers in her. She could be goofy like Mikey, smart like Don, but she really made him think of Raph. Stubborn as an ox.

"Jane?"

"Hm?"

"How'd you like me to help you get on your feet faster? Without killing yourself, that is." He grinned, hoping she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"How're you gonna do that?"

"Meditation and simple exercises." She slowed her chewing and swallowed.

"You'd really help me?"

"Of course, Jane. You're our friend, and fellow misfit, right?"

She just stared at him. She'd been on her own for five years. A few people had come into her life, but they all had left her on her own again. She'd learned not to trust anyone but herself. The last time she really trusted another person, he'd disappeared and left her all alone and hurting.

"You alright?" Leo noticed her odd look, but couldn't place it.

She looked him over, and decided that she would accept his help, but wouldn't put her trust in any of them. She couldn't take it if they left her too. The problem was that she couldn't admit to herself that she already loved them all like family.

"Fine." She shrugged, trying to be convincing (and failing miserably, but he let it slide). "And I'd be honored to accept your help, Leo." She did a small mock half-bow from her sitting position. He smirked and nudged her back before sliding off the bed and onto the floor.

"Get some sleep Jane." She nodded and lay down, closing her eyes to the now very familiar and rather friendly lab.

 _ **This one is for the guest that bothered to review, thank you honey! As always. I'm on my knees here. Please, please, please review. Feedback is the only way to improve.**_


	9. Chapter 9

**_I don't own TMNT... Blah blah blah_**

After Leo's departure, she couldn't get her mind off of the one friend that she wished, more than anything, was still with her, despite their rough parting.

The'd met while running from a local gang of youth called "The Chain Gain" intent on beating him, Philip, up as an unwanted initiation in order to recruit him. Another small group of them were chasing Jane because she had caught them torturing an old alley cat and she had thrown rocks at them from above to get them to leave it alone.

They had both tried to hide in an old theatre, both deciding the film booth would be the best spot. It was very "Scooby-Doo"-ish in how they bumped into each other- back to back, and jumping with a yell when they met in the middle of the small room. Phil's yell was more to do with the fact that Jane had socked him in the nose out of surprise, but it was very cartoon-ish nonetheless.

They had hidden there all night . It had only took one night of talking, and waiting nervously for their possible death, and they were fast friends. Most of Phil's life had consisted of petty thievery in order to live, but he had begun to rob for the Chain Gang right before they met. He said that he had begun to hate robbing for the group, and tried to get out of the gang on the night of his initiation when they'd met. She told him about her family, about her rough life on the street, divulging all that she'd kept bottled up for years. He had then gathered her in a hug, and allowed her to cry into his shoulder.

They spent the next month together, living in their drafty home, glad it was summer. They had made the theatre their own, and it didn't look as if either planned to leave the other anytime soon. Jane was beginning to hold out hope that she'd found a friend who might want to stay with her.

At night, to stave off the hunger pains, they would amble around the city, following the Chain Gang, and intervening whenever possible. They'd run around, fighting the gang members and saving helpless civilians.

Once, he had gone out for an entire day, and she'd feared that something had happened to him, or he'd decided to leave. He eventually returned with a weighted throwing knife that had a intricate carving of a rose in the wooden handle and sheepishly held it out to her. He'd said that he'd spotted it in the window of an old shop, and, after explaining that he wanted to give it to his friend, the aged owner had allowed him to work for the day in order to have it. He showed her how to use it, and she easily got the hang of it, knives being her main method of defense.

She'd practiced with it every night since, and never left the theatre without it, adding it to the various other knives she kept strapped to her back, hips, forearms and calves for close quarter encounters.

She fell asleep thinking about Phil and the last day she saw him.

"Hey Jungle Queen, rise and shine… I've got food." Jane started, cracking her eyes open to see her best friend crouching down with a big bag of fresh bread and two jugs of milk.

"Oh my gosh Phil, food!" She was still a little groggy and the stumbled a bit in getting up. But, to be fair, she was quite feeble as neither of them had really eaten in a week.

She was halfway through her third roll when her mind caught up to her stomach.

"Hey Phil?"

"Yeah?"

"Where'd you get all this stuff?" He stopped chugging his milk long enough to glance over and shrug.

He set the jug on the floor and stood up to look over the balcony, down at the tattered theatre chairs below.

"Philip… Please tell me the truth." She stared at his tensed shoulders, silently begging him to tell her that he found it all on the side of the street.

"Jane, I know your stand on all of this, but you were really starting to waste away. You needed to eat. _We_ needed to eat."

"That's no excuse to take what's not rightfully yours!" Her heart kept telling her to shut up and just let it go, but her mouth wouldn't listen.

"It's not my fault I can't earn an earnest living, Jane. Stealing is who I am."

"No, it's what you do. And it's wrong." He stared at her, anger flushing his features.

"I didn't grow up like you. You had…"

"We've been over this! Neither of our upbringings define us! You are who you choose, Phil. You aren't a thief by birth, you're one by choice." She pointed at him with venom, and they both glared at each other. As food became more and more scarce, Phil had tried to convince her that their only way to survive was to "Nick a bit here and there, not enough to hurt anyone, but plenty to keep us from starving", but Jane had been immovable, refusing to stoop to such a low as to take what she didn't earn. She'd lived five years on the street without stealing, and she wasn't about to start now.

"Fine." He broke the silence and staring match all at once, abruptly standing and storming to the door. Jerking it open, he looked back and opened his mouth to say something. Jane knew this was a memory/dream and knew what he was going to say. She had regretted her silence ever since, and now tried to speak up and apologize, tell him that she was wrong but her mouth refused to work.

"Bye Jane, have a great life." He was still fuming mad, but there was sadness in his eyes.

The dream swirled into a dark fog, and Jane fell. Further and further away from the door her only friend had just disappeared through. Her voice returned and she called after him, begging him to come back and forget what she said.

She woke with a start, gasping for air. The lab was dark and cold, and she was alone. The tears came without her permission, and once they started, there was no holding them back. No matter how many times she told herself she was acting like a stereotypical girl. She hated crying, and she hated feeling weak.

Raph's hand lowered from the door at the sound of sobbing on the other side. He was never comfortable with tears… especially girl's tears. He stared at the red wood for almost twenty minutes before her cries died down and soft breathing replaced them. He turned and walked back to his own room, wondering why women had to be so… different.

 ** _It's not like I'm trying to only post when I get a review... But it sure is motivating... Just saying._**


	10. Chapter 10

_I don't own TMNT, 2003 version or otherwise..._

"Ok, so then you'll need to go into a pose like this... That's right, now just extend your left arm out in front of you…" Leo was helping her get a few new yoga poses down before he and his brothers left for the night's patrol. They had been working for almost two weeks, and she was feeling much better. Even Master Splinter and April would help, pulling her into the dojo and meditating or stretching with her whenever they had time.

"Come on meathead, it's already past nine." Raph's voice floated through the door, but he remained outside, keeping his distance.

"Is he ever gonna get over that fight we had?" She sat up and glared at the space beyond the dojo walls that held the obnoxious turtle.

"You know, you could just talk to him, start a conversation."

"I tried! Three days ago, we were in the kitchen and I started talking, I even started apologizing, but he just walked off." Leo sighed, expecting as much from his volatile brother.

"Raph can be… difficult. For the "toughest" of us four, he can be real sensitive." They both laughed a bit before Leo bowed to her, she returned it, and he waved as he jogged off to the sewer tunnels that led up to the world above.

Jane watched him leave, sighing and wondering what to do now that she was all alone. (April had taken Master Splinter up top to her shop to look through a bunch of new kinds of teas she'd just got in.)

Getting up, she wandered over to the tv station, flipping on one of the multiple screens to see a very blonde news reporter standing in front of a still-smoldering building site. She was about to wander over to the kitchen when the screen changed to show a different reporter (but still a bottle blonde that was covered in way too much makeup) talking at her from in front of a familiar street.

"I'm here in front of the old Judea Theater just moments after the fire marshal and his crew left. Reports still give no sign as to the origin of the fire, but witnesses say they saw a young boy of about eighteen fleeing the scene. Here is a composite sketch provided by the police department. If you have any information, please call…"

She punched the pause button on the TV, and the remote slipped from her hand to thud to the floor. Phil's face stared at her from the screen, glaring out of his ratted old jacket's hood. He looked haunted, thin and troubled. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen until it started to blur from lack of blinking.

She scanned the room to be sure April and Master splinter hadn't returned while she was distracted. After assuring herself she was alone, she darted to the hallway that held the lab that had kinda become her room. The pain in her side nothing more than a dull throb after all the work she and the others had put into healing.

She paused at the thought of the others. Wouldn't they worry? Wouldn't they tell her that going out alone was as foolish and stupid as she could get? But, it was Phil…

She shook her head. She owed it to Phil. She never should have yelled at him. Never should have let him leave. She had to make it up to him and this was her chance.

She couldn't explain why she took his burning their once upon a time home as a cry out to her for help, but she couldn't think of it as anything else.

 _You don't know who he is anymore. Last you met, he was on his way to becoming a big-time criminal. Maybe it's a trap._ She shushed herself, not wanting to hear how gloomy the situation looked, even from herself. _You're still in love with him, aren't you?_

 _No!_

 _You are, and now you're just going to run out on the only true friends you've ever had just to run into his waiting chains._

 _Just shut up! He needs my help, I know it…_

 _You just want someone to need you. Well guess what? No one needs a pitiful orphan. It'd be better for everyone if you just left now before causing them even more trouble._

Jane hated the voice that always jumped out at her from her own mind when she finds herself at a crossroads in her life. But she had no argument for the last thought. All she'd done for the Hamato family was put them out of a lab and cause them grief. It was better that she leave.

She shuffled to the lab and gathered up her things. A small bag that Leo had given her. A package of tea that Master Splinter had given her to help keep the nightmares away. A stuffed beagle that Mikey had found and proudly presented to her. A set of new clothes that April had bought her. A first aid kit jokingly made for her by Donnie. And the old mask that Raph had used to bind her wounds. It was sitting on the table beside her bed when she'd woken up that first night, and Raph had made or dug up a different one to wear, so she had taken it as a momento. Besides, there were still blood stains on it. No good to the tough turtle now that it was stained, right?

She strapped on her knife holders and looked around the lab that had been more of a home to her than even the Judea. She would never forget this place, or the strange people and mutants that inhabited it.

Leaving the lair for the first time since being rushed in bloody and dying, she placed a piece of paper on the kitchen counter and left.

* * *

"You have to talk to her! Stop ignoring the fact that you like her and just say something!" Leo and Raph were lagging behind Mikey and Don to hash out the "Jane problem" while the other two pretended they didn't hear.

"First off, I don't have ta' do nothin'. Second… Who says I like 'er?!"

"Oh please Raph, it's obvious. You blush whenever we talk about her, you insisted on being the one to carry her to the lair the first night. You even gave her your mask! Don't think we all didn't notice that the one you're wearing now is two shades darker."

"Yeah, and my red sheets have a big strip cut out of them!" Mikey piped in, turning around to point a finger at his second oldest brother. "You owe me a new set of sheets dude, and I want superhero ones! With Turtle Titan if you can find em'!" He struck his "Turtle Titan" pose and laughed, turning around to argue with Donnie about whether or not sheets existed with his dopey face on them.

"You don't know what yer talkin' 'bout." He stormed off, beating the others to the lair. When they'd caught up, they thought that he'd found bug on the counter or something, with the way he was staring at it.

"Whatcha got there Raphie? Did Leo leave out some of his cooking again?" Mikey ducked, narrowly avoiding Leo's swing. He turned to counter the attack, but stopped when he noticed Leo wasn't looking at him, but at Raph who'd turned around to face them, holding a piece of paper.

"What is it?" Donnie asked as he went over to take it from Raph. He turned the paper over to the front and read the first few lines. "Oh…"

"Read it out loud Don." Leo instructed, and he cleared his throat and began with a shaky breath.

Dear Hamato Family, April, and Casey,

The guys are probably going to be the first to read this, as I doubt April will be able to pull Master Splinter away from all the different teas any time soon, so I'll start with you.

Donnie, I can't thank you enough for what you have done to help me get back on my feet. I'm sorry I was such a frustrating patient and never really followed your instructions. I'll keep the kit you made for me at my side in case I need it (well, next time I need it, there really isn't a question.) I'll never forget you, you Purple geek. Lots of Love, ~Jane

Mikey, You remind me of my little brother, Sam, and I never got to tell him how much he meant to me before he died, so I'll tell you. You're such a light in life and your goofy grin can bring me up no matter what. Love you Mikey, don't ever grow up, ~Janie

Leo, you're like the big brother I've always wanted, strong and ready for action, yet cool and calm when I need it. Don't let Raph get on your nerves too much, you guys need each other. Thank you for everything, ~Jane

Raph, I'm not really sure why you've avoided me these past few weeks, but I don't hold it against you. You are a great guy/turtle and it's because of you I'm alive today. You're the one I really regret not being able to say goodbye to in person, but I know that I wouldn't be able to handle it. Please don't hate me, or needlessly blame your brothers. And listen to Leo, he may be a know it all, but he really does care about you. I'm sorry we didn't talk more… ~Jane

Master Splinter, You and your sons are the closest thing to a family I've had in over five years. You have been so kind and wise whenever I needed it, and I couldn't ask for a better father figure when I'm without a father of my own. Thank you for everything (especially the tea) ~Jane

April, I never had a sister, but if I did, I'd hope she was like you. I can't believe how easy it was to talk to you about things I've never shared with anyone before. (By the way, nothing I said two nights ago is to be repeated. Ever.) Be patient with Casey, he tries. Love, ~Jane

Casey, we really didn't get to know each other much, but I've been able to glean how important you are to this family. Stay by Raph, but don't let the fact that you're both boneheaded boys get you into too much trouble. And don't forget to tell April how much she means to you, you've definitely found a keeper, so don't let her go. Good luck, ~Jane

Everyone, I've left to help a friend, but it was also time I stopped taking up space in Don's lab. I'm healed well enough to get by, and, had I stayed any longer, I'm not sure I'd have been able to leave you. Thank you for everything. Don't worry about me, and definitely don't come after me, I'll be fine.

I'll never forget any of you, you've all been a blessing in my life. Thank you,

~Jane

Everyone was silent. Staring at one another in disbelief.

"She's gone? Just like that?" Mikey looked close to tears. He and Jane had become close, bonding over video games and comics. He thought he'd finally found a sister.

"What are we gonna do? She's healed, but any major fighting and those stitches are gonna pop. Not to mention she wouldn't really be able to hold her own." Donnie sighed, leaning heavily on his Bo staff.

"What I want to know is, who's this friend of hers? And why did she have to go off and help them so suddenly?" Leo took the paper from Don, scanning it for any clues. All he found were a few wet blotches where her tears had made the ink run. He sighed at the sight. "I was actually kinda hoping she'd stick around. Not like she had anywhere else to go, and she kinda fit in perfectly here…"

None of them really knew what to do. She'd asked them not to follow, but they all had the same uneasy feeling. Something was off.

"Hey, the TV's on… She musta been watching something." Mikey led the group over to the screen, still paused.

"Who's that?" Donnie hoped that perhaps Jane had talked to another one of his brother's about a boy her age.

"No idea, but I'm guessing it's what set her off and made her wanna leave." Raph piped up for the first time since the letter's discovery. "Probably even the "friend" she was talking about." They nodded and Mikey picked up the remote from the floor, and turned the tv back to the beginning of the news story.

"I'm here in front of the old Judea Theater just moments after the fire marshal and his crew left. Reports still give no sign as to the origin of the fire, but witnesses say they saw a young boy of about eighteen fleeing the scene. Here is a composite sketch provided by the police department."

"Wait! Go back!" Donnie shouted, grabbing the remote from Mikey and rewinding it to the reporter standing by the building. He paused it, and looked to his brothers, pointing to a red flame symbol surrounding a purple dragon. "Is it just me, or is that The Foot and Purple Dragon symbols combined?"

"Ah shell… she's in trouble, isn't she?" Mikey murmured , looking to his brothers for their next move.

"Yes Mikey, she is." Leo sighed and turned toward Raph, who was re-strapping on all of his gear he'd tossed aside upon entering the lair. "We should wait for Master Splinter and April if we're gonna infiltrate the Shredder's lair."

"We won't need to bother with that if we can find her before she gets captured."

"You really think that's even a possibility at this point? That news report aired three hours ago, and it wouldn't have taken more than an hour for her to get ready… She's had quite the head start on us."

"That's no reason to give up on gettin' to her before they do." He gestured in a general upward direction, and turned on his heel to leave the lair and head up top. His brothers shared a glance before following, Donnie pulling out his shell cell to notify April and Casey of the situation.


	11. Chapter 11

**_This is becoming rather tedious, so here, for the last time is the obligatory disclaimer. I don't own TMNT. Duh._**

"This is trippy." Jane kinda hated how easy it was for her to slip back into her habit of talking to herself. She was currently picking through the rubble of the old theatre, looking for any sign that Phil was near. Seeing nothing but bits of broken memories thrown about a burned landscape as if they hadn't been a meaningful part of her life.

"Dang it." She mumbled as she tripped over a burnt rug and fell on her hands, broken glass sticking to her palm. She griped to herself as she picked out the glass, hissing at one in particular. Her palm was red all over and she continued to grumble and curse as she reached into her backpack for Donnie's first aid kit, oblivious to the figures closing in around her.

"Need some help?" A hulking shadow engulfed her, bringing a chill that exceeded that of any normal shadow. She gasped, swinging around to bump into Hun's gigantic chest. She backed up, only to bump into another figure, this one a faceless ninja.

"Wha-what happened to your thugs? Get an upgrade?" She nervously laughed while her eyes frantically searched for a way out.

"These ones are for… quick capture." He leered at her, cracking his knuckles.

Jane had never been able to explain how her mind worked in battle. One moment she was scared as hell, then, when threatened, she got pissed. Real pissed.

"Might want to rethink that "quick" bit." She growled, pulling out two of her knives and crouching down. She gestured at the nearest dark and silent figure to her right.

"Bring it."

He (or she) leapt at her, striking with obvious attacks that were easy to evade and counter. She finished them off quickly. The next ninja was the same, as was the next.

She was almost relaxed, going through the motions, when a woman a little older than her intercepted her punch to the face of one of the guys in PJ's. She had short black hair held back by a red ribbon, large silvery-metal shoulder pads, and a red flame-like symbol on her chest.

"A lot of trouble just to capture a mediocre martial artist in my opinion, but the Shredder knows better than I…" She shrugged, lashing out, and Jane barely had enough time to fling herself to the side, hitting the ground hard, and causing her blades to skitter out of her reach.

"Whole new ballgame." she murmured as she moved to get up, only to find a sharpened katana blade rested at her throat. Jane gulped and looked for a way out, any way out. She spotted a pipe near her foot, resting at an angle on a blackened beam. She pretended to see something interesting to her right, then when the female ninja glanced that way, she stomped on the pipe, grabbing it as it spun through the air, and bringing it down on her opponent's head.

"Karai!" Hun's voice rung across the space and the woman jerked to the side,managing to make Jane's blow only glance off of her shoulder, rather than her head as intended.

"Well done. Better than I expected." She, "Karai", was holding her shoulder, rolling it around to get the dead feeling to fade.

"Better believe it sister." Jane grimaced as she crouched, and pulled out two more knives from their holsters, ready for another attack. With her dive into the earth, her side had taken a beating and she was beginning to fear that her wound had reopened. She needed to get out of this fast.

"Let the duel begin then." They ran at each other, meeting with a clash of ringing metal. Blow after blow, Jane's side throbbed more and more, her breathing became labored and sweat stung as it leaked into her eyes, but she continued. They would trade places as the one on top, ready to lash out with the final blow. At last, Jane was able to pin Karai to the ground, knives at her throat.

"I win." She panted. "But I don't want you life." She relaxed her grip and stepped back, allowing her opponent to get up as well. "I just want to leave in peace."

Karai seemed to have an internal struggle, weighing her options. On the one hand, Jane had beaten her, and, as was her right in a duel, had a right to Karai's life, yet she had spared it, asking to leave in return. On the other hand however, her father and master had commanded her to bring the girl to him, and she was honor bound to obey him. Had she been on her own, she would have let her go honorably, but Hun and several foot soldiers were watching, waiting to report back to the Shredder. Karai sighed.

"I am sorry, but I have orders to bring you in. I cannot disobey my master." She sadly gestured at the foot to advance and corner her opponent. They leapt lightly to the weary girl, backing her up until she was trapped against a nearby wall. The closest soldier raised a hand to strike and was violently knocked back by a red and green blur.

"Raph!" Jane's battered body was forgotten in the rush of joy that swept over her at the sight of her reptilian friend. He glanced back at her, grinning, then jumped on another opponent with a battle cry.

Three more figures dropped to the ground around her and began to engage the ninjas, Mikey's enthusiastic "booyakasha!" making her giggle. She gathered herself up with a slight wince, and ran to gather up her fallen weapons before joining her friends.

She caught up to Donnie and his whirling bo staff and helped him with the four that he was engaging.

"You alright, Jane?" He grunted between blows.

"Never better." He glanced at her with a knowing look. "I'll be fine Don." She assured him.

"Just don't go poppin' those seams." He warned

"Yes Sr, Dr. Donnie." She gave him a half salute and went off to help Raph deal with Hun.

Raph was currently taunting the giant, and causing him to make wild haphazard swings, throwing his weight around in the process. She took a position to his right, pushing him out of the way of what would have been a lucky hit.

"Careful Raph, or you might the new resident in Don's lab."

"I had it." he grumbled. They talked as they hopped around their opponent to avoid his flailing arms of death.

"Chill Raph, I was only trying to help." She huffed, annoyed at his typical response.

"I know." He sighed. "Look, about my avoidin' ya…"

"Forget it Raph, we're good." She smiled at him pausing briefly in her movements, and getting a beefy arm to her bad side. She was knocked back several yards, landing heavily on the earth.

"Jane!" Raph socked Hun in the nose with a sai handle, causing him to reel, and ran over to her.

"Still here." She groaned, wishing she wasn't.

He gathered her up in his arms, ready to run for the nearest manhole, when he was knocked to the ground. He dropped her as he fell, and she almost blacked out as she hit the same spot on a very sharp rock.

Hands that were definitely _not_ Raphael's grabbed her, and tossed her over very large shoulders.

"I've got the girl! Fall back!" Hun's voice bounced around her poor head, threatening to split her skull open.

"Jane!" Three voices called out, Raph's missing as he was still trying to struggle up from his landing spot. Jane's fading vision jumped up and down as Hun ran toward a white van, Karai and the foot keeping her friends at bay.

"Guys…" She croaked, watching three green blurs try desperately to catch up to her.

She was dumped in the back of the van, and Hun was about to slam the door when Raph appeared out of nowhere and rammed into his back, knocking him away from the van and into the gravel.

"Karai!" The blond mountain yelled, spitting gravel from his mouth. "Get her to the Shredder, I'll hold off lover boy!" He and Raph squared off, trading blows and trying to keep each other from the van's doors. Karai jumped over Leo and ran to the driver's seat. She hit the gas, and as they sped away, Jane was thrown to the other side of the van, hitting her temple on the wall. The last thing she heard as they sped down the street was Raph calling out her name into the night.

 _ **This chapter is dedicated to another author whom has been a wonderful help, Ms. Kateri.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**I don't own it, get over it. I did. Kinda. *Sobs***_

She woke up to a very itchy nose… that she couldn't scratch. She reached for it, only to find that her hand wouldn't-no,couldn't move. She was tied down, each of her limbs connected to a corner of the cold metal table she rested on, and she had only her sports bra and panties on.

She began to hyperventilate, not liking the feeling of helplessness one bit. It was like claustrophobia, but worse, way worse.

"Hello?! Anybody?!" Her voice hitched as she choked back a sob.

"Well, I had a body once, if that counts." A man's head attached to a robotic spider crawled down from the ceiling, chuckling and grinning like a madman.

"Who are you?" She did what she could to keep the trembling out of her voice and seem as if she was merely curious about the cyborg before her.

"Baxter Stockman, greatest mind to grace this planet." Two of his little mechanical spider- legs acted as arms as he swept an awkward bow.

"Guess you mind's really all you have left to be honest..." She couldn't help but laugh at the terrifying yet hilarious mobile head before her.

"Laugh while you can, girl. You won't be laughing for long…" He released a cartoon bad-guy laugh and turned to a menacing machine near the wall, flipping a switch which caused several vibrant green tubes all connected to a large needle/gun hybrid to light up. The contraption then swung over to her, several individual needles setting themselves up all along her body, just inches from her exposed skin.

"Now, Master Shredder has requested that I give you a deal before we begin." She heard disappointment in his voice, but she couldn't tear her eyes from the needle positioned above her heart. "You see, what you are about to go through is excruciatingly painful. All other subjects we've collected have either died or gone mad, but he is prepared to offer you a sedative." The Dr. held up another needle, filled with a clear liquid.

"Morphine, and a strong one at that. All yours if you only tell us where the Turtle's hideout is. Easy peasy." She tore her eyes away from the needle to stare at him, wondering how smart he actually was.

"You're joking, right? You can't actually believe I would betray them for an empty promise from a mad bot?" She spat at him, hitting her target with incredible accuracy.

He growled and grabbed a towel to dab at his face, emerging behind the cloth with a malicious grin. "Let's begin then." He jabbed at a button to his right and the needles plunged into her skin. For the next hour the lab was filled with her screams before the merciful darkness took over once again.

* * *

The Shredder's lair was filled with the sound of Jane's recorded screams bouncing off the walls. Stockman grinning wildly at the sound, enjoying it to no end.

"Turn it off." The Dr. did so with a soft click.

"Is it what you wanted, Master?"

"Exactly. Now, Philip? Come here." He beckoned to the figure hiding in the shadows behind him. Phil placed himself in front of the Shredder, kneeling with his head bowed.

"Yes, my master?"

"The girl has survived just as you predicted, and she has been injected with the Utrom serum that you retrieved from their fortress. Now, with the recording Stockman has provided, we have the opportunity to lure the Turtles in and finish them off at last. Their friends are their greatest weakness." The boy nodded robotically, head still directed at the floor.

"What do you wish of me, master?"

"Put this where they will find it." He gestured to Stockman to hand over the recording, and he placed it in the bag they had confiscated from Jane. He handed it to Phil, who accepted it with another bow, and left the room.

Shredder then turned to the insect-head. "How goes her transformation?"

"Quite well. The boy was right about her resilience, she has fought hard."

"Yes, it's too bad she escaped the theatre before we could infiltrate it after receiving confirmation from my new apprentice." He mused. "We could have had our ultimate soldier by now… but the Turtle's heads on a platter is a nice bonus." He laughed, and Stockman joined in, laughing their heads off until a battered Hun came in to report on the night's mission, looking very confused at the unusual friendliness between the two, who cleared their throats and Stockman scuttled out of the room and to his lab to watch his new experiment from his security monitor.

* * *

Donatello sighed as he turned the corner to finally see the bulky figure of his older brother against the sewer wall. It'd been almost a day since Jane was taken, and Raph had disappeared once they got back to the lair. When the purple turtle had woken up from a fitful sleep, he'd expected to find him beating on his punching bag, but there was no red banded turtle in sight. Finally, after hours of searching the nearby tunnels, he'd found him.

"Raph, you need to sleep, making yourself exhausted isn't going to help her." Donnie placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off.

"I had her. She'd be fine if I hadn't a' let Hun get the drop on me." He buried his bruised face in his hands.

"Stop that. You know she wouldn't want you to blame yourself. It's not your fault." Raph sighed and dropped his head, linking his hands behind his neck. "I can't sleep, and I ain't gonna try." He grumped, resolute.

"Fine… If you want, we can go over some blueprints of Shredder's Tower that I found in the city's archives. It won't have all of the security measures on it, but it's a start." Raph nodded and slouched back to the lair after Don's retreating shell.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Sorry about the late update, life has been a little busy lately. Happy New Year everybody (And 19th birthday to me!) I hope you like it!**_

 _ **Don't own it, but I sure do love it!**_

"Even if we make it to the holding cell in time, there's no way we'd get back with all the foot that'll be coming after us when we break her out. There's bound to be some kind of alarm tripped without all the necessary codes." Everyone (Bros, Splinter, April, and Casey) but Mikey, who had gone for a walk, was crowded in his lab, trying to come up with a plan of action, and all they were doing was giving Donnie a headache. Donnie was rubbing his head, trying to explain to Raph, for the hundredth time, why they needed to plan out Jane's rescue rather than just "bustin' in and kicking some Foot Clan butt".

"Plus, we don't know what kind of condition she'll be in and whether or not she'll be able to fight with us." He winced at the loud bang his lab door made when it hit the wall with all the force his youngest brother could muster. He swung his chair around, starting to lose his temper.

"Mikey, I know you're mad, we all are, but that doesn't mean you can go around slamming all the doors in… the…" He stopped at the look on Mikey's face. He, like all of them, had been moping around the lair, sad and angry, but the expression on Mikey's face now was one he'd never seen on his sweet, innocent brother. Pure furry. Mikey marched over to Don's desk and dumped a very familiar bag on the top, scattering pens and pencils all over the floor.

"And this was in the inside pocket." He spat, tossing a small recorder on top of the bag and storming out, not wanting to hear what was on the tape for a second time that day. They stared at the door for a moment, then they all turned turned to the item he'd practically thrown at them. Master Splinter looked at all of them in turn, then tentatively reached out to push "play" on the small device. A very familiar voice emerged, making them all dread what had scared Mikey into acting like Raph.

 _"Now, Master Shredder has requested that I give you a deal before we begin. You see, what you are about to go through is excruciatingly painful. All other subjects we've collected have either died or gone mad, but he is prepared to offer you a sedative."_ They all looked at each other in horror, knowing from experience how much Stockman loved experimenting on people.

 _"Morphine, and a strong one at that. All yours if you only tell us where the Turtle's hideout is. Easy peasy."_ Then, Jane's voice rang out of the little black box, strong and sure.

 _"You're joking, right? You can't actually believe I would betray them for an empty promise from a mad bot?"_ There was the sound of a loogie being hucked, and Casey mumbled "Way to go Janie." Before he was shushed by the brothers. Then Stockman came on again, sounding almost gleeful.

 _"Let's Begin."_

Her screams were amplified on the recording, making it seem as if she were right there in the room with them. April gasped, covering her mouth in fear, and Casey pulled her into his chest. All the guys grabbed for their weapons, wanting more than anything to have Stockman right there in the lab with them. Master Splinter bowed his head over his staff, shoulders sagging. The screams went on for almost a minute before Raph's fist silenced them with a single blow. Everyone was still, staring at one another, not sure what to do or say.

"We can't leave her with that maniac for another moment." Raph growled, beginning to pace the lab in agriation. He stopped in front of his father, begging for some kind of magic answer to the whole mess. The old rat sighed.

"Young Jane has become apart of this family, just like Miss. O'Neal and Mr. Jones. I have taken great lengths to contact the Utroms for aid, and they have assured me that they are looking into the issue. They have promised to have an answer by tonight." He reached out to place a comforting paw on his son's shoulder.

"Raphael, I know you care deeply for her, and want to singlehandedly storm Shredder's Tower in order to save her, but you must think with your mind as well as with your heart, my son." Raph slouched in defeat, turned away from his father, and walked over to the wall, sliding against it to thud to the floor.

"Master Splinter, perhaps we should contact the Utroms with this new information… they might find it compelling enough to lend us their aid more quickly." Donnie looked a little greener than usual, still thinking about Jane at the mercy of Dr. Stockman.

"Perhaps you are right." Master Splinter nodded and Donnie turned to his computer, typing like mad to set up a link with the Aliens who'd inadvertently created them.

"This is most disturbing…" Mortu murmured as he listened to the recording that Donatello was able to salvage from the smashed recorder. "I fear that I must deliver more unsettling news related to your captured friend…" He grimaced and reached outside of the screen's provided vision to press a few buttons. His window minimized and a diagram depicting a familiar substance became the main focus.

"This is a new strand of the mutagen that you unfortunately came into contact with all those years ago. Several canisters were stolen from a storage unit almost three months ago." A security footage still shot replaced the diagram and all of the guys gasped, recognizing the thief's face from the news story.

"Jane's friend…" Mikey breathed. He had returned to the lab after his father went to fetch him from his room where he was laying on his bed, blankly staring at the wall.

"After the theft, we've come across several dumped remains that were horrifically deformed, all containing large amounts of the mutagen." The lab was silent, each individual had a head full of questions and concerns, but they all had come to the same conclusion about Stockman and what he'd been doing to Jane.

"Will you help us?" Leo asked, pleading with the brain-like alien within the screen.

"Yes. We feel that we are partially responsible, and will do all we can to aid you in the rescue of your friend. I and a team of Guardians will be one block north of the Shredder's tower in an hour. Be ready." He signed off, and the lab was a mass of four turtles, a rat and two humans all scrambling for gear and tech.

 ** _Please Review - I'm desperate here..._**


	14. Chapter 14

_**The title has me singing Phil Collins... Enjoy and Review!**_

The body that was once hers was now nothing more than absolute pain. She was no longer connected to the rapidly morphing flesh, instead, she was lost in her own mind, drifting across an ocean of thought. Scenes from her childhood played on repeat, occasionally a ninja turtle or two would appear in the mix. The red one appeared most often, his terrified face fading over and over as she unwillingly sped away from him into this hellhole.

Hours, days, weeks. Time was immeasurable, and she couldn't begin to guess how much of it had passed before she began to drift back into what was left of her body.

Everything felt… wrong. Her limbs were off, longer than she remembered, more flexible too. Her lower back hurt worse than anything else, it was like nothing she'd ever felt before. As if she had… a…

She hesitantly craned her neck to see behind her, and released a piercing scream at the sight of what was attached to her, swaying back and forth of it's own accord.

"I… I've got a… I have a… a…"

"It's called a tail, Jane."

She whipped around, the extra weight of the tail throwing her off, and causing her to turn much further than than she meant, almost falling over. She corrected herself, making an attempt at a fighting stance even though all she could see was spots. When her vision cleared, she began to make out the other occupant of the tiny room.

"… Philip?" The sight of a familiar face caused her to choke back a sob and throw herself at him, crying into his chest. She stayed like that for a long while, before she slowed her cries enough to notice that he was stiff, barely holding her. Looking down at herself, she saw that it was more than just the tail. Her whole body was a mottled green and brown, covered in scales. She stepped back realizing how she must look to him.

"I… I'm sorry, you must be disgusted by how I look…" She hung her head, retreating further from him.

"Your looks don't bother me. I have seen much worse in my time working for the Shredder." He grinned as she snapped her head up at those words, a horrified look on her face. "It is your ignorance that appals me." He reached out, grabbing her neck and pulling her forward so that her face was inches from his. "Did you cry for the loss of my friendship? The poor boy turned thief who just happened upon you in your hour of need. We hid in such an obvious spot that even a moronic gangbanger would think to look." He sneered and tightened his grip on her neck, causing her vision to once again fade in a crowd of spots.

"Cow… ard." She choked out, wishing she had the breath to spit in his eye.

"I hope this teaches you to defy the Shredder." He spat, tossing her to a corner and exiting the room with a slam of the door.

Jane stared after him, suppressing the bubbling rage. She was done with being tested on, done playing the damsel in distress.

She stared the camera resting in the ceiling's corner, red light blinking mockingly at her. She gathered her aching legs beneath her and jumped, grabbing at the cord connecting the device to the wall. The light died and she positioned herself behind the door, a plan of escape beginning to form in her mind.

* * *

"Where now?" Donnie whispered into his headset, trying to ignore Raph's impatient tapping toe.

"Down the hall, first door on your right will lead into the lab, but records indicate that there is a prisoner being held in the cells beyond the lab. Observation cells is what they're called." April noted, looking at the blueprints from inside the battle shell and reading them off.

"Observation… as in she…?" Mikey didn't need to finish, they were all thinking "Experiments".

"Leonardo, have you found the girl yet?" The guardian leader's voice crackled out from the walkie talkie strapped to Leo's belt. The guardians were all on the floors below, holding off the Foot soldiers that seemed to flood endlessly from nowhere.

"Not yet, but we're closing in." He answered. They all entered the lab on high alert, but there wasn't a foot soldier in sight. A single table sat in the middle of the room, clasps left abandoned, dried blood covering the table and floor. Raph growled at the sight and spun his sais around to relieve the tension.

"Keep moving everyone." Leo whispered, trying to tear his eyes from the gruesome sight. They continued to the other end of the ghoulish room, and entered the hallway beyond.

"Where now April?"

"Down to the left. Last door. Security camera's been disabled though. Be careful guys, may be a trap." Donnie nodded before he realized she couldn't see him.

"Thanks April, we'll be careful." Leo slipped out and checked all around.

"Clear." He beckoned at his brothers to continue past him and toward the door April had indicated and they all slunk along the wall, approaching with the utmost caution.

"On the count of three." Leo put up a hand and put down a finger with each number they counted off.

"One… Two…"

* * *

Jane was having a hard time standing up in her defensive position behind the door of her cell, so she had decided to save what little energy she had and sit until the door opened. It had be about twenty minutes since she pulled the plug and she was starting to worry that she'd be no good in a fight if she had to wait any longer.

There was a shuffling on the other side of the door and several muffled voices. She shook the weariness off and readied for a fight. The door burst open, and she had to jump out of the way to avoid being squished. Her sight was blurry from moving so quickly. All she saw were several figures rushing into the tiny room.

She lashed out at the nearest one, landing a solid blow on his head, she crouched down and spun around, using her newfound tail to knock all the intruders to the ground. She heard several "oofs" and stumbled to the door, tripping over one of the figures and falling to her hands and knees. She began to crawl across the floor, swaying as she went.

"Jane?" She stopped in her tracks and tried to turn around, which caused her to topple over. She couldn't get up, and the ceiling was spinning above her. Suddenly, four faces, banded in various colors, appeared in her line of sight.

"Dudette is that you?"

"Mikey…" She was so happy to hear his lovable kid voice she started to cry. "Guys… you found me." She felt strong arms lift her from the floor and secure her to a hard plastron.

"Yeah Jane, we found ya…" Raph's voice was gruff, and vibrated against her ear. "I'm so sorry we were too late to stop that madman…" She barely caught the last bit as she at last allowed herself to drift out of consciousness.

 ** _I know updates have been virtually nonexistent as of late, but it's hard to care enough to update when no one seems to care about the story. (Not complaining, it's just the facts) If you want quicker updates, review, otherwise, it'll just be when I can fit it around my hectic life._ **


	15. Chapter 15

_**Sorry about the lack of updates... Review!**_

As she pulled herself from the fog of deep sleep, the familiar sound of water dripping into an old pail reached her ears.

'Don really needs to fix that pipe' she thought groggily, and moved to roll over and off the bed to start the exercises that Leo had taught her, but an odd, tangible force stopped her. She reached back to grab at whatever it was and felt a warm, long piece of flesh that.. was... covered... in… scales... _Oh crap._

Memories that she would have prefered to keep down began to surface. A cold metal table, numerous needles covered in green goo piercing her skin, and a small dark room where she was left alone to turn into _this_ after who-knows-how-long of agonizing pain.

Her breath came in gasps and she had to sit up and put her head between her knees, but _it_ was still wrapped around the table leg, preventing her from moving.

'Come on Janie, it's connected to you, just like an arm or a leg… Simply think about what you want it to do and it will do it.' She had to take several deep breaths before she could focus. Then, she put all of her willpower into one thought "Let go of the table. Let go of the table. Let go of the table." She invisioned the strange appendage, imagining it moving like she wanted, and, miraculously, it swung free from the table.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and slumped back on the makeshift bed, the simple action taking all she had out of her, and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

She dreamt of the lab of horrors, it's resident mad scientist, and her friend-turned-enemy. Fractured and out of sequence memories crossed her mind in a blur that left her tense and frightened. Phil's sneering face as he griped her throat, squeezing until she passed out, only to wake up on the freezing metal table, a sneering Stockman leering at her as he jabbed the the button. Pain became all she knew, her screams her only form of communication or movement. She screamed and screamed, trying desperately to move any part of her body. Faces spun around her head. Stockman. Hun. Philip. All laughing at her pain, her fear.

"Jane…" They began to chant her name, their voices odd and echoey. "Jaaane…" She wanted to yell 'no' at them, call them all the horrible names she'd ever heard, or simply do anything other than scream like a victim. But she couldn't help the terrified cries that were ripped from her throat.

"Jane! Janie, wake up!" Hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her. She was jerked back into reality with such force, she shot upright, gasping for breath.

"Jane? Jane, it's alright, it was just a dream….You're safe now." It took a moment to for her brain to reconnect with reality, but soon Raph's worried face swam into focus.  
"R… Raph?" Her voice shook, creaky from all her screaming.

"It's me, Jane." He assured her, his thumbs drawing circles on her shoulders, over the long brown robe Don and April had put her in, trying to calm her down. She choked out a sob and threw herself into his arms.

"...Jane!" He barely caught her, and wasn't sure how best to hold her and avoid messing with any of her wounds, but Jane just clung to him, sobbing into his neck. He sighed and hoisted her up, carrying her like a child to the armchair that rested near her bed. She curled into his lap when he sat down, and he held her tight to his plastron, petting her hair and murmuring into her ear.

"Yer okay, yer safe. I'll never let no one hurt you again." His accent was thicker than usual, and his voice was almost a growl. They sat like that for only a few moments before the lab doors burst open, letting in three speeding turtles, and two humans.

"Everything ok dudes? We heard yelling…"Mikey and the others spotted the distraught mutant in Raph's arms, and they all stopped in their tracks.

"What happened Raph?" Leo asked, eyeing their newly transformed friend wearily. None of them knew how to approach the situation, they didn't remember a time when they weren't mutants. How were they supposed to comfort her?

"She 'ad a nightmare, she was thrashin' round and I woke 'er up when she started ta scream." He kept stroking her hair as he talked, one of the few things about her that hadn't changed. "She was hyperventila'in' and took a bit ta recognize me, but when she did, she jumped at me and started crying…" He looked down at the now softly crying lizard-girl in his arms and pulled her to him tighter, rocking back and forth in an attempt to get her to calm down. After a few moments, she did, hiccups replacing her tears.

"Jane? How do you feel?" Donnie and April crept over to her, Don placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and gave him a watery smile.

"I've been better, Don." He grinned back at her, glad to see some kind of smile out of her.

"Raph, can you put her back on the bed? I need to check her vitals." Raph nodded at his brother and got up to place Jane on the cool white sheets. He moved to go, but she refused to release his hand, and he relented to stand by her, rubbing her back as Donnie inserted a needle into her arm to draw blood for some tests.

He placed several drops on a petri dish and placed them under a microscope, April leaning over his shoulder and jotting down notes he mumbled to her. The others left, leaving Jane and Raph to tap their toes and fingers, waiting for something to happen. Finally, she couldn't take it any more.

Donnie and April were immersed in their work, whispering about "DNA markers and mutations". Jane had to call Don's name three times before he looked up.

"Donatello!"

"Hmm?" he hummed, not even looking up.

"I'm I good enough to go to the bathroom?"

"Huh? Oh, sure…" he trailed off and April looked up to shared a look with Jane.

"I'll take her." She said, getting up from her chair next to Donnie to walk over. The redhead grabbed Jane's hand, and, with Raph's help, lead her slowly to the bathroom across the lair. Raph squeezed her right hand reassuringly before letting go and allowing April to lead her in and close the door.

"Alright, do you really need to use the bathroom, or did you just want to move around?" April asked, not knowing what was going through her new friend's head.

"Just needed to go…" Jane caught sight of her reflection and let out a small scream, gasping for breath as she took in her new appearance for the first time. Her face was a lighter shade of brown and green than her body, the scales smaller and looking almost like skin. Her nose had flattened, leaving only a small rise between her eyes that ended at the two small slits that served as her nostrils. Her hair and eyes were exactly the same, thankfully, allowing her to calm down a little at the slight familiarity.

"I'm… hideous…" She buried her face in her hands and began to noisily sob, causing a loud knocking to rattle the door.

"Hey, what's going on in there? Jane? Are are you okay?..." She didn't answer, only crying harder. April have her a hug and led her over to the toilet to sit. Then she stepped out to talk to Raph. Their voices were muffled. April's rose in volume, and then there was silence for a while followed by a few whispered words before the door opened and April came back in and crouch in front of Jane, pulling her hands from her face to get her attention.

"Do you still need to use the bathroom?" Jane nodded, and was helped up. In helping her to wiggle out of her now- tight and underwear, April heard a long ripping sound, and the destroyed garments fell to the floor.

"... Probably should get you some new stuff…" Jane just sighed and sat hard on the toilet, crushing her tail.

"Dammit!" She yelped, hopping up and down, holding her abused tail. "I hate this stupid thing!" She sat on the toilet again, being more careful of her extra appendage this time.

"I'll call Casey and have him grab some stuff… actually, knowing him, that will probably just end in disaster." She chuckled a little and Jane couldn't help but smile at the thought of Casey Jones hopelessly lost in the women's department.

"I'll be back soon with some clothes for you… why don't you just take a bath?" Jane nodded and shooed April off, assuring her that she could take a bath on in her own without dying. "Ok, but I'll have Raph stand just outside the door in case you need him, alright?" Jane nodded, then April was out the door, assuring her she'd be back in a flash.

Jane waited for a few moments once she was out the door, giving her time to leave the lair before she fell to the floor and began to sob into the soft green bathroom rug. She let all that was gripping her heart in a chokehold pour from her. In her tears. In her screams. In the way she allowed her cries to reverberate off the small room's walls, bouncing back to her ears morphed and echoey.

She barely noticed the door open and a figure approach her. She was lifted from the floor into a sitting position. The arms then lifted her into a warm lap, allowing her to resume her fetal position and cry into a warm, sturdy plastron. She cried for what felt like hours, pressure in her head building until she ran out of tears. She sat, sniffling, eyes puffy and head pounding.

"Wanna talk about it?" Raph's voice was uncharacteristically soft and caring, his arms tightening around her.

"What did they do to me?" She whispered, pushing away from him to stare at her hands. "I'm a monster… A freak." He reached down to grab her chin and force her to look up at him.

"You could never made be in ta' something other than a work o' art. You're a Mona Lisa, no matter what species." She stared at him. Raphael the hothead just complimented her… and it was kinda beautiful.

"Raph…" She continued to look at him, and he blushed, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. She grinned at his reaction "Thank you." She stretched out and kissed his cheek, causing his face to redden into a deeper shade than even his mask.

"'Welcome." He mumbled. "... Just, don't tell the guys, k'? Got a image to keep up." He grinned and she gave him a watery smile.

"Your secret's safe with me." She giggled, giving him another peck on the cheek, and snuggling back into him.

 ** _Anybody catch the Mona Lisa reference? As always, REVIEW MY LOVELIES! All three of you..._**


	16. Chapter 16

_**The story is going kinda slow so I'm trying to drag out what I do have so it's not just a bunch all at once and then nothing for months. Thanks for reading, but reviews are always appreciated! Big surprise... I don't own TMNT.**_

"Are you sure this will work?" Jane was questionably holding up a pair of high-riding black workout pants, examining them.

"We just cut a hole in the back for your tail, and there will still be plenty of material on top. The same goes for the underwear. More material. More to work with. And look! There's buttons on the top so you don't have to put it on tail first!" She explained, picking up the new and recently cut and sewn underwear, demonstrating the new additions.

"But… they look like granny panties." Jane pouted.

"Well, I guess you could run around in just a mask like the guys…" April raised an eyebrow at the lizard girl, enjoying the look of horror crossing her face.

"Granny panties it is." She said, grabbing them from April and slipping them on, enjoying the feel of real clothes that actually fit. The pants fit just as well, having a zipper instead of buttons. Once on, Jane felt so much better, she gripped her friend in a tight hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome… You alright?"

"Yeah, just not quite used to… me yet." She sighed, sitting heavily on the flower bedspread. (They had snuck up to April's with Mikey's help to try on the clothes. Mikey was currently in the kitchen "guarding" them as his pilfered food, all the while being sucked into a cartoon on April's TV).

"What am I gonna do April? I used to be graceful and stealthy, now I'm lucky to make it to the other room without tripping on my tail or knocking something over with it!" She flopped onto her back, bouncing a bit as the springs settled beneath her. "Maybe Don could cut it off."

"Jane, what are you talking about?! You are actually considering cutting off a part of your own body?!" The redhead looked down at her friend in horror. "It's apart of you, just like an arm or leg."

"April, I was _borne_ with arms and legs. This _thing_ just appeared a few days ago." Jane folded her arms, refusing to admit that she had already started to think of the thing as _hers_.

"Master Splinter has a tail, and I've seen him use very effectively it when he fights… Maybe you could ask him for help?" April suggested, trying desperately to make her friend see reason. Jane sat up, her arms supporting her as she considered the thought.

"I guess..." She looked up at her friend's worried face, and sighed, feeling like a pathetic drama queen. "I'm sorry, I should be bouncing off the walls with joy at the fact that I'm alive and not some robot-spider-man's lab lizard. I just don't really know what to do with this." She gestured to herself, head bowed so April couldn't see tears starting to form.

April walked over and embraced her friend, clutching her shoulders as hard as she could, trying to squeeze out all the hurt she saw swimming in Jane's eyes. They sat like that for over five minutes, enjoying each other's company, before Donnie burst in breathless.

"Guys… Jane's… DNA… results…" He clutched the doorframe for support, taking a moment to catch his breath. "Have to… see for... yourselves." The girls stood up from their embrace and went over to their friend, asking if they could help in any way. He shook his head and straightened his shoulders before walking away to find Mikey and pry him the couch. Once he was gone, Jane turned to April with a curious stare.

"Must have been quite the run if a ninja is out of breath, makes me think that he found something really…. Interesting in my DNA." April shrugged, reaching out to rub Jane's arm comfortingly.  
"I'm sure that it's nothing. Donnie tends to get worked up over nothing all the time." Jane nodded and followed her out to the living room, carrying the bag of extra altered lizard clothed in the crook of her arm.

"Ready?" Don asked, his toe tapping with impatience.

"Yeah yeah, let's go." April sighed, allowing Mikey to sweep her up into his arms and hop out the window to the manhole in the alley below. Donnie looked to Jane, holding his arms out expectantly, she shook her head and jumped onto the windowsill herself. She wavered a bit and Don inched forward to be ready to catch her, but she waved him off and jumped with grace to meet Mikey and April bellow. Once Don had joined them, they all hopped in, Mikey entered last and popped the cover back on with a metallic click.

* * *

Raph was trying to flip through the channels and find something reasonable when April, Jane, and Don all burst through the sewer entrance, chatting in a huddle, and disappearing into the lab.

Mikey headed over to Raph and plopped down on the couch next to him, grabbing the abandoned remote and flipping to a favorite show of theirs: _Teen Titans_. He watched for a second and couldn't help laughing at how much Beast Boy reminded him of Mikey.

"Yo Mikey, what's up with them?" He gestured to the closed lab door that the small group had disappeared through.

"Something about Janie's DNA having superpowers or something." Mikey's eyes never left the screen as he answered, and Raph shook his head, knowing that he wasn't going to get anything substantial out of his brother until he came out of his TV coma. He pulled himself off of the couch and stretched before heading off to the lab doors, stopping just outside them to listen better to the muffled voices coming from inside the room.

"... Cutting your arm open might be the quickest way to test it, but it's also the most harmful to you." Donnie sounded nervous, yet excited, and Raph had learned that it was a very dangerous combo when his brainiac brother was involved. He flashed back to the first few prototypes of their shell phones and shuttered.

His mind flashed pictures of Jane on the makeshift hospital bed, bloody and weak. Her struggling to gather her feet under her to run for her life at Shredder's Tower. Her curling up in a ball in his lap, tears wetting his plastron, her sobs bouncing around his head. He couldn't help the pure white that dominated his eyes as he shoved the door open, ready to keep Don from maiming her further than she already had been since they had met.

"Raph?" Jane asked surprised as he stormed in, pulling her arm from Don's grasp a little at the sight of his angry face. He didn't answer her as he grabbed the razor blade poised over Jane's arm from his brother and tossed it onto the table. He crossed his arms and stared at the three of them, waiting for an explanation, and trying to swallow his fuming anger.

"Um... we were just testing out a theory… Jane insisted and we were being careful…" Don looked as if he was trying to talk down a cornered beast in a cage, palms up in a nonthreatening manner. Raph glared at his purple brother, and he backed off a bit, not used to having that particular glare directed at him.

"Um… Raph? I'm alright… we weren't going to do any real damage…" Jane spoke in a low, calming voice as she hopped off the table to approach him as slowly as she could, mirroring Donnie's arms in the raised position, showing him that she was unarmed.

She crept closer to him and placed a palm on his cheek, circling her thumb in a calming motion. His eyes faded to normal, and her soft smile came into focus, the room slowly loosing it's red tint.

"See? I'm alright. Donnie would never hurt me, you know that." She took his hand with her free one and laced their fingers. He smiled, tightening his grip. They stared at one another for a while, lost in the other's gaze, when Donnie's throat clearing shook them out of their trance. They blushed, not really sure where the moment had come from. Jane moved to step away from Raph, but he refused to release her hand. She sighed and returned to her spot at his side, blushing furiously.

"Let's deal with this another day…" Don said as he and April began to shuffle around the two to the door, but as they passed by, Jane reached out to grasp his arm.

"No, Donnie I want to do this, I need to know all I can about what they _did_ to me…" Her voice hitched and Raph pulled her into his plastron, allowing her to hide her face as a few tears escaped. A growl rumbled through his chest at the thought of what must be going through her head. He couldn't explain his reaction to everything that had to do with her, he just felt the need to care for and protect her at any cost… almost as if it was a natural instinct. Don came up to them and placed a hand on Jane's quivering shoulder.

"Jane, I understand that you want to know all you can, but your healing is priority number one, and that includes your mental healing. Why don't you rest for a while, get your mind off of everything, and we'll try again tomorrow." He patted her shoulder reassuringly and nodded to his brother before exiting the lab, followed closely by April.

Raph waited until they were out of the room before sweeping Jane up bridal style and sitting her down in his lap once he'd settled himself in the armchair. He rocked her slightly as the tears continued flow, soft sobs escaping to mingle with the creaking of the chair as it moved under his shifting weight.

* * *

The door closed softly and both Don and April kept walking until they had reached the kitchen, still bewildered at Raph's behavior.

"What was all _that_ about?" April asked swinging around to stare at her brainy friend.

"... I'm not sure, but I think Raph likes Jane, like _really_ likes her." He mused, turning to the cupboards to fish out a glass and filling it with water at the sink.

"Well _duh_." April rolled her eyes at the obvious answer, and grabbed a cup of her own. "But what was with the growling? Don, he looked ready to _kill_ you when he burst in. Don't you find it a bit over the top for a crush." He sipped his water, contemplating.

"Perhaps. But is it really over the top for Raph? He's always been on edge and ready to blow. Besides, we are all still part ordinary turtle… Perhaps it's instinct?" He absentmindedly placed his glass on the edge of the table, and it tipped, spilling water all over the floor and shattering the glass.

"Opse…" He mumbled, lost in thought. April rolled her eyes and got out a towel and dustpan when he ignored the mess, proceeding to amble about the kitchen.

"Why does it matter _why?_ Can't you just be happy that they're happy? Jane's been through a lot recently, I'm sure it feels nice to have someone care for her that way. Especially after changing so much. Besides that, it's nice to see Raph show his soft side for once. I just knew he had one." She finished whipping up the floor and tossed the rag into the sink and the broken glass into the trash. Folding her arms and leaning against the counter, she watched the turtle walk circles around the table, waiting for an answer.

"It's just so _weird_ to see _Raph_ acting like… like… like _Mikey_! All sweet and nice?"

"Did you even hear me? There doesn't have to be a scientific reason for your brother being nice for a girl. Stop trying to rationalize everything and just… be happy for them." He broke out of his trance and looked at her.

"I guess you're right." He shrugged and joined her at the counter. There was a moment's silence, then he giggled.

"What?"

"I was just thinking… If we'd a' known all it took to calm Raph down was a girl, we'd have got him one a lot sooner." He cracked up laughing in earnest at the thought, and April couldn't help joining in. Leo walked in on them bent over in stitches and stopped, confused.

"What's so funny?" They took a moment to tell him the joke between bursts of laughter. Once caught up, they were all giggling for almost five minutes, stopping abruptly when Master Splinter walked in, carry a tray of used tea dishes.

"Something amuses you, my children?" They all looked to one another and busted up laughing again, unable to answer. Master Splinter shook his head and placed his dishes in the sink before exiting the room to kick Mikey off the TV in order to watch his stories.

 _ **Made me giggle a bit writing that last bit, and I hope it made you laugh too. Remember to review!**_


	17. Chapter 17

As usual, Leo was up early the next morning about two hours before his brothers began to even think about stirring from their warm beds. This morning however, he wasn't alone.

The sound of heavy thuds accompanied by the light clanking of a chain floated out from the dimly lit dojo. He sighed, imagining Raph bone tired, yet unable to sleep, and pounding away at the old punching bag that was now more patches and dents than anything else.

Approaching the entrance, he steeled himself for a fight, and pushed open the old wood and paper doors that they'd practiced ninjutsu behind for as long as he could remember (he and Raph had gone back for them after the mouser attack on their first lair and set them up as a surprise for Splinter).

The punching bag was in it's usual corner, swaying back and forth in response to the blows it was receiving, but it wasn't his red banded brother throwing the punches.

The lair's newest occupant stood in a basic stance, tail swaying back and forth like an annoyed cat, her caramel hair up and out of her eyes in a wildly swinging ponytail, attacking the cloth sack with all she had. She struck with the side of an open hand or a swift kick as fast as possible, no real strategy to her movements, just amount of "pain" inflicted on her "opponent". She grunted with each hit, a mix of exertion, pain, and what seemed like anger to him. She stopped mid-kick and looked up at the sound of the door hitting the wall.

"Jane? What are you doing up so early?" He approached with caution, seeing pain and anger flash in her eyes before she hid it with a small smile.

"Oh, Leo. Good morning… I was just finishing up, I'll leave you to your meditation." She grabbed a nearby towel and draped it around her shoulders. As she was leaving, Leo spotted a line of red running along her arm.

"Jane, wait." She stopped, hand on the door frame, but didn't turn to him as he approached, taking her arm and examining the rough cut. "Jane…" She looked up to find a hard glare on his face. "What did you do?" Her head dropped and the ponytail fell, covering her face, as her tail stilled from it's slight swaying.

"I… I couldn't sleep."

"So you _cut open your arm_?!"

"It wasn't like that, I just couldn't wait for Donnie to wake up, and we were talking about how I might have advanced healing after… you know." They both winced and she tried to continue. "And I… I…" She slumped against the frame, silent tears dripping down her chin.

"I have to know what they did to me. What _HE_ did to me." Her voice broke, and she slid down the wall. He followed her down, pulling her head onto his shoulder. She stayed there for a while before seeming to pluck up the courage to talk further.

"And… I'm not talking about Dr. Baxter, it's… Philip." She whispered his name, as if she had to force it out. " I knew him, _trusted_ him… I've trusted so few people over the years, Leo. I've been alone for _five years_ , so few friends and none have stuck around for long. I thought he cared, I… I _cared_ about him. _Liked him,_ liked him! When he showed up in that cell, I thought I was saved! " She scoffed, shaking all over with anger and tears. "Now? I wanna kill him. Make him hurt as much as I am."

 _What exactly am I supposed to say to that?_ He rubbed her back comfortingly, thinking of how much her angered tone and grinding teeth reminded him of Raph's frequent rages. _They really are a lot alike…_

He knew that she'd had a hard life, and that she'd been alone for so long, but he had no real way to relate to that, he'd always had his family. The only really hard thing he'd had to deal with was being underground all the time, and that was made bearable by his friends and family.

"Well, you've got us now Jane. We'd never betray you, you've got a family here now. Mikey already calls you his sister, and we all…" He smirked. "Well _most_ of us think of you as a sister too." He pulled away to look her in the eye, making sure she knew he was dead serious. She just buried her face in his plastron and took a few hitched breaths, trying to calm down.

"Thank you." It was quiet yet firm, and she pulled herself from him, sitting on her knees. "It's strange, but I never doubted wether or not I could trust you guys, I just couldn't seem help it." She wiped her face and got up, stretching a hand down to help him up. He accepted it, and she gave him a pat on the shoulder before leaving the dojo free for his morning meditation.

He watched her leave before turning around to sit crossed legged in the middle of the large room. He took a deep, calming breath, letting it out slowly and easing into a peaceful position as he did so. _Guess I've got another sibling to keep an eye on._ He smiled at the thought as it passed his mind, taking that final plunge into the serenity of his meditation


	18. Chapter 18

Jane's eyes were puffy. Again. She absolutely _hated_ crying, it was weak, and never did anyone any good. Her talk with Leo had been a relief, and had helped her to relax a bit about her situation in the sewer and it's occupants, but she was still plagued by the unexplainable fury that had filled her entire being hours before when she woke from a vivid memory/dream, _his_ face imprinted on the back of her eyes, mocking her stupidity in trusting him. She put a hand to her still-sore neck, his phantom hands seemed to grip her throat every time she thought of him. She'd never opened up to someone like she had with him before-not until the turtles. He made her feel safe, normal. She'd even begun to develop feelings for him!

Her upper lip instinctively curled up in anger as she walked down the hall of rooms to the bathroom at the end. She fumed into the small room, firmly closing the door, keeping herself from slamming it with every ounce of restraint she possessed, not wanting to wake the others and draw more attention to herself.

The creature in the mirror glared back at her, and, if possible, pissed her off even more. They stared eachother down for a few minutes, before she blinked at the reflection in confusion. _What is my problem?_ She shook her head, trying to remember the last time she was so livid at life. She sighed and flipped on the faucet, soaking her scaly face in cold water, trying to rid herself of the all consuming emotion.

Normally, she'd head to an empty sparing mat at the tenth ring, and beat the snot out of a dummy until she felt better, but that wasn't really an option in her current state. The dojo was occupied, and without Donnie, there'd be no real progress with the mystery of her DNA… She cringed thinking of the mess she'd made of Don's equipment when she'd first woken up looking for an answer to her fragmented nightmares.

Thinking of all she didn't know about what had been done to her body and mind, her jaw clenched, and the sound of rushing blood filled her ears once again. _I have to do something, or I'm gonna scream…_ She tossed the towel on the edge of the counter and stomped out of the small room, and into the living area. Glancing around, she spotted the large pond-like water opening in the middle of the large room. Her head cocked to the side as she thought. It's morning, so the top's off limits. The Dojo is being used… Why not? She'd seen the guys go in and out of the odd water fixture several times, apparently it was just a faster way to travel. She shrugged, and approached the pool, dipping her hand into the cool water and sighed. Splashing cold water on her face helped, perhaps swimming in it would make her forget her anger completely.

She made a quick run to Don's lab to grab a flashlight, the Shell Cell that Donnie had been working on for her, strapped on some of her knives, and left a hasty note. Then she was diving into the water's cool embrace, her bound wounds stinging slightly at the initial contact.

* * *

She'd been wandering around the water logged tunnels for what felt like hours, and she felt so much better. It was almost as if the cold water had put out the fire that ragged in her whole being, leaving her mind free to realize that… she hadn't gone for air in over two minutes, and she only felt a slight discomfort. She rose to the surface breaching slowly, looking around the abandoned passage to be sure that she was alone before hauling herself up and resting along the ancient wall to look around and try and get her bearings. Only then did she realize that she had no idea where she was, or, more importantly, where the lair was. No matter how long she had lived on the street, or been on her own, living on her wits, she always had major blond moments like this.

She heaved a deep sigh. Now what? She had her Shell Cell, but to call one of the guys was to admit that she needed their help. Again. It seemed that all they'd done lately was care for her as if she were a toddler. Cleaning up he messes and coddling her. Well, she'd had enough. She squared her shoulders and got back into the water with a faint splash. She'd get back one way or another.

* * *

An hour later, she was still wandering the seemingly endless tunnels, and she had absolutely no idea where she was. Sighing, she decided it was time to call it and admit defeat. She hopped up on the tunnel ledge, and slumped against the wall.

She pulled out her Shell Phone and pressed the home button. Nothing happened. After fiddling with the device in every way she knew how (which honestly wasn't that many, she wasn't Donnie after all), she chucked it against the wall in frustration. _Great, now I really am in trouble._

She moped there for a while, her clothes dripping onto the already damp, dark tunnel before she sighed, getting up with a groan. _I guess I just have to risk peeking out of manhole covers to see if I can get my bearings._ Having come to a decision, she gathered up the dented Shell Cell (oops) and jogged over to a spot in the ceiling where sunlight streamed in through three small holes.

She paused, listening for any signs of movement from above before slowly easing the heavy metal cover up a few inches. The ally beyond was generic, and not one that she recognized. Sighing, she let the lid drop and hopped back into the water to wander around until she came across another manhole cover. Not exactly idea of the year, but without any options of contact with the guys, she wasn't left with may options.


	19. Chapter 19

Raph wasn't normally a late sleeper, but his dreams that night seemed to latch onto his consciousness, refusing to release him from their grasp without a fight. In all honesty, they were some of the worst nightmares he'd ever had. It was like a twisted slide show, images of his family and friends in pools of their own blood, their screams bouncing off a dark corridor, the shredder and Hun mocking him at every turn. As the night wore on, Jane's face and cries for help became the most dominant subject of torture -the bloody table they saw in Stockman's lab, her recorded cries of terror - all flashed by in a dizzying sequence. He tried to run to her, rip off the chains that bound her to Stockman's table as giant needles injected green ooze into her, but the dreams seemed to be mocking him in every way. He couldn't move, couldn't speak or even cry out to those he cared for. His usual burning anger- his main defense- was stripped away and he was terrified.

It was hours after his usual waking time before he finally pulled himself from the hellish dreamland. He woke gasping for air, and tried to jump out his bed, only to find his legs hopelessly tangled in the sheets. He spent several moments trying to release himself, the task taking much longer as he couldn't seem to shake the mind-numbing terror that still clung to his skin like a wet blanket.

He shakily made his way downstairs to the kitchen, pouring himself a rare cup of coffee. Normally, after such a dream, he would head to the dojo and beat at the dummy awaiting him until the pain in his hands made him forget all about it, but he could barely find the strength to move from his spot leaning against the counter to a chair at the table.

He hadn't been sitting there long before Mikey came in strutting around the corner, flailing his arms to the beat of the music pounding through his earphones. Donnie shuffled in after him and headed straight for his coffee pot next to the newly repaired toaster. He stopped short at finding it half empty and turned fearfully to his younger brother gathering a cereal box from the cupboard and pausing every once in awhile to beat invisible drums or strum an air guitar.

Everyone vividly remembered the day Mikey had decided to sneak a cup of coffee, the lair was a disaster for a week and Mikey himself had to be chained to a column to keep from tearing through all of New York. Donnie shuddered at the memory, and dismissed it when he concluded that Mikey was just being… Well, Mikey.

He turned his attention to Raph slumped against the chair he occupied, and grew instantly worried. The last time his red-masked brother had had a cup of coffee was at Casey's Grandma's cabin after Leo was attacked by Shredder and bedridden. He watched as Mikey continued to dance around the kitchen, and winced when he sloshed milk on the table, splashing Raph in the process. Donnie cringed, waiting for the inevitable blow up.

"Mikey…" Their youngest brother popped off the earbuds, letting them hang and stopped dead in his tracks, prepared to run. "Be more careful, will ya?" He mumbled, taking one last sip of the cup in his hands before getting up to leave.

"Raph? You ok?" Donnie took a cautious step forward, hand outstretched. His brother glanced at the appendage before turning with a halfhearted shrug.

"Never better Don."

Donnie and Mikey shared a look and followed their brother to the couch where he had slumped.

"I know you're there." They both jumped, not sure what to expect from their often volatile brother. Mikey made a decision and sauntered off to the sewer door, grabbing his skateboard as he went. After the door had shut behind him, Donnie turned to Raph, resolute in finding out what was wrong.

Looking at the determined expression on his younger brother's face, Raph sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be left alone until he talked.

"I… Had a bad dream." He mumbled, turning his head away, feeling like a young child.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Do I have a choice?" He looked at Donnie, getting his answer from the concerned stare he received. He placed his head in his hands with a sigh. "It's not like I don't have dreams like this all the time. After we 'ave a close shave in a fight, or one of us is hurtin'... but this one was different. Like all of my fears were bundled up, and I just can't seem to shake it. Like it sapped all my strength." He glanced at Donnie who had a slight smile on his face. "What?"

"Jane didn't happen to appear in these dreams, did she?" He laughed when Raph lightly punched his arm, glad to see some of the old Raph.

"Yeah… She was in them. That recordin' kept playin' over and over too." Donnie nodded in understanding, giving his arm a pat before standing and offering his hand.

"Perhaps it'd help if you talked to her… Not necessarily about the dream." He said quickly at the glare he received. Raph nodded hesitantly and accepted the help up.

"Thanks Don."

"No problem, let's check the lab and see if she's still asleep." The entered the lab through the swinging doors to find the area empty, a paper laying on top of her pillow.

"Not again." Raph breathed, rushing over to snatch up the offending object.

Hey guys!

Ok, don't freak, but I was kinda going insane in the lair… couldn't sleep, and I'm in desperate need of some fresh air, well, as much as you can get of it down here.

So I've gone for a swim in the pond thing (Do you guys have a name for that?) Anyway, I don't plan on being gone long, but I grabbed the Shell Cell that was sitting on Don's desk just in case… Call if you need, but don't worry.

Be home soon, Jane.

Raph breathed out a sigh of relief, and turned to hand to the note to his brother to read, but Donnie was over at his desk, staring at it.

"Don?" He turned, a worried look on his face.

"The Shell Cell… I haven't waterproofed it yet…" Raph looked at the note again, a feeling of unease settling his stomach. Just then, the lab doors swung open to admit their oldest brother.

"Hey Jane, the dojo is open now if you… Uh, Guys? What's going on? Where's Jane?" Leo looked from one turtle to the next, concern slipping into his features features.


	20. Chapter 20

"Nope again." She mumbled, letting yet another manhole cover fall with a clank and a frustrated sigh. "On to the next one…" She paused a moment to let the world stop spinning before jumping back into no longer enjoyable water. She may have healed a lot faster than was normal, but she still wasn't one hundred percent, and still needed her rest.

She swam for another twenty minutes before hopping out to check the next cover. As she lifted the heavy metal, she noted two things. First, the light was beginning to dim outside and there was little hope of the guys not having some form of a panic attack at this point. Second, she actually recognized where she was.

This particular manhole opened up in the middle of a small deserted street lined with shops. Across from her positioning, she came face to face with her previous home. The Tenth Ring.

She watched the darkened windows for a moment before deciding that she'd better make a run for it to the alley alongside the fight club, knowing that she could scale the building and run rooftops over a few blocks and drop into the sewers almost right on top of the lair's entrance.

Slipping out of the darkened hole, she carefully dropped the cover back in place before darting to the shadows not ten feet away. She snuck past the back door that led to her old "room" only to have it come crashing down with the force of the body of a Purple Dragon cronie. She stared at his unconscious body in shock before turning around to see Ben beating the snot out of another in the room beyond. She hesitated, not sure if she should intervene, then her friend was knocked to the ground with a gut punch, and she didn't need to think anymore.

The thug looked afraid as the lizard girl came at him with a battle cry, but recovered enough to dodge her kick. She didn't wait before pulling a knife from her back to bring its hilt crashing down on his skull. She stepped out of the way of his body as it fell, ready for the next attacker, only to find the area deserted of all but her and the unconscious men littered about the floor. _Ben's got_ skill...

She slipped out of her stance and went over to Ben's limp form, pushing him over with effort onto his back to asses the damage. He groaned, sitting up with his arm clasped over his gut.

"Thanks for the help mate, don't know what I woulda… What _are_ you?" They backed away from each other, Jane flinching at his words.

"Not exactly sure, Ben, havn't got the results back yet, but we're thinkin' 'lizard'." She flashed a weak attempt of a grin at the man who'd taken her in, begging him not to reject her.

"...Jane?" He stared at her in disbelief, glancing at her tail that was twitching nervously.

"Yeah, it's me… Sorry I didn't call." She shuffled her feet, eyes flicking to the door. He opened his mouth to respond, then glanced behind her, eyes widening. Jane whirled around to follow his line of sight and staggered back.

"Jungle Queen, I was wondering where you wandered off to. Looks like I was right, thinking you'd end up here sooner or later." Philip chuckled darkly, and gestured for the foot soldiers around him to surround the area. Jane barely registered their movement, keeping her eyes glued to his. He looked wrong, slimy in foot armor, his face was wrong too. It was… malicious, dark, evil.

"Didn't think you'd be stupid enough to show your face in public now that it's all…" He gestured at her rigid frame, smirking at the effect he was having on her. Her whole body was trembling with emotion, she didn't know what to do. But her body did.

She leapt at him with an awful scream, tossing aside the knife she'd used on the thug to pull out one with a wooden handle from her thigh. He blocked her initial blow with his forearm against hers, and pushed her back a few feet.

"As much as I'd love to see the floor painted with your blood, my master has requested that I bring you in alive. Dr. Stockman was so disappointed when you left before the fun really started." She grimaced at the mad scientist's mention, planting herself into a defensible stance as the soldiers began to close in at a gesture from her once friend.

"I will not go back." She choked out, glaring at him with all the raw emotion she possessed.

"Oh, you will. Perhaps not willingly, but you will return to the shredder and become his weapon against the turtles. It'll be even better, now that you're close to them, perhaps they won't even raise a finger against you when you slice open their bellies…"

A loud crash brought both of their attention to the figure that had demolished the front window. "Hey Janie, How come I wasn't invited to the party?" The voice was muffled a little due to the hockey mask, but Jane could hear the grin that was splitting Casey's face. That boy is always too eager to fight.

"Get him!" Philip's voice rang out and black figures split between the two opponents. Jane glanced over to see Casey give his typical battle cry of "Goongala!" before jumping into the fray, having the time of his life, spewing bad banter as he whacked one ninja after another over the head. She then turned to focus on the sword that was aimed at her face, she ducked with ease, and began to work her way through the mediocre goons. She glanced over just in time to block a strike from Phil's Guntō, he grinned wickedly at her and they began to spar, the foot soldiers forgotten. He mocked and taunted her as their weapons clashed over and over, and she was really beginning to feel her weakened state.

"You know, Master Shredder has been toying with the idea of keeping one of the turtles alive… for scientific purposes, of course. I saw how you interacted with them at the old theater, and I think I've decided on who we should keep around." Her eyes widened and she missed his wrist's quick movement. She cried out as blood spurted from her arm and she fell to the floor. He leered over her as he savored his words and her reaction. "That hothead with the red bandanna… he sure seems to mean a lot to you. And here I was thinking I was the only man in your life." He guffawed, and she lost it. Red overtook her vision and next she knew, she was on top of him, her dagger at his throat.

"Huh… never thought you had it in you Jungle…"

"Don't." She snarled. "Not another word from you, or you die here and now." He, amazingly, shut up. Actual fear beginning to enter his gaze.

In all honesty, she didn't know why she hadn't just killed him, that is after all what she had wanted to do just that morning in the dojo with Leo. But, as she looked down at him, she realized - he wasn't worth it. Wasn't worth risking her sense of morality and dignity over.

She gave a desperate yell and plunged the knife down, nicking his ear , but that was all the damage it did. She glanced around her to find that all the foot were in a heap on the floor, Ben and Casey were just a few feet away watching her silently. She gestured to Casey, and he came over, grabbing Phil roughly and hoisting him up.

"Seems I was right after all. You are just as weak as I thought." He laughed and she had the sudden undeniable desire to deck him. So she did, hard. And he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

"Good hit." Ben laughed, smacking her on the back and she gave him a weak smile. "Now how's about we get you two fixed up before you head off, eh?"


	21. Chapter 21

"What were you thinking? Leavin' the lair like that?" Casey glowered over at her from his stool that Ben had set him up on. They were at the bar while Ben stood across from them, winding gauze around Jane's arm as the red bleeding through lessened with each round.

"I… I was just going for a quick swim. To clear my head." She pulled her arm to her once it was bound and held it to her chest, chuckling. "I guess I didn't really think about how'd I get back."

"You almost got yourself captured. Again." She winced, even though his words and face had softened. "Raph was even ready to go topside to find you. In broad daylight." He yelped when Ben grabbed his hand to put neosporin on his open knuckles.

"You leave her be, Jones, or you'll not be coming back here anytime soon." Ben warned, flashing Jane a familiar grin. "She's the best fighter I've ever had in the ring. Including you. And I like her better to boot." Ben gave her a playful wink and Casey turned to stare at her, trying to figure something out. His expression changed suddenly.

"You're the Rose?" He sounded surprised, but not shocked. Jane started, almost not recognizing her stage name for when she fought in the ring.

"Yeah, thats me… You saw me fight here?"

"About a week before you showed up at the lair. You were fighting a big goon, and he was cursing at you every way he knew how. But you stayed silent, and avoided his every move. He was out with one sweep of your leg, falling like a giant tree." He smiled at the memory. "You just walked away, grabbed your abandoned tray, and kept serving drinks." He got up with a groan, and wandered off, waving his phone over his shoulder to show he was calling the guys.

"I remember that one, though it wasn't much different from your other fights." Ben chuckled weakly, running a hand over his face, sighing. "I wondered what happened to you… I imagined a lot of bad stuff…" He looked her over with and odd expression. "But I never imagined this."

"You… you know that it's probably best if you don't…. Um, talk about this to anyone, right?" She looked at the middle aged club owner pleadingly, begging him to see the girl he took under his wing beyond the scales that covered her face. He gave her a reassuring smile, and clasped her hand in his own.

"I won't breathe a word Jane, you can count on me." He then reached under the bar to grab a Dr. Pepper he kept stocked in the mini fridge just for her when she was working at the club. She smiled gratefully, and popped the lid as Ben crossed the bar to sit by her and bring her into a half hug. "You know, if I ever had a kid… I'd want em' to be just like you." He squeezed her shoulders again before gathering up the unused first aid supplies and headed to the curtained off doorway beyond the bar. Casey walked over after Ben's back had disappeared, pocketing his phone.

"The guys are coming over to help clean up." They glanced over at the group of tied up Foot Soldiers, Dragons, and Phil. She flinched as their eyes met and turned back to her friend. He was tied, gagged, and set far away from the others. She felt a lot better about him and what happened, no longer blaming herself, but that didn't, by any means, make it comfortable to look at him.

"You sure that's a good idea? Ben may not have completely freaked at my appearance, but four giant, mutant turtles?"

"You're hurt, and even with Ben's help, we couldn't get all of them far enough away in less than an hour, and Ben doesn't want any ties to this with the police. We have no other choice." She sighed.

"I'll go warn Ben. How long do we have?"

"They'll be here any minute, and, knowing that both Don and Raph are gonna be on your case, they'll probably want to be back at the lair in less than thirty minutes." She nodded, cringing at the thought of the talking to she was in for, and headed off to talk to the club owner.

* * *

Mikey reached the recently broken door first and brought his hand up to his mask, grabbing an orange end, then pointed at his nose. He made bird wings with his hands, then reached up as if to pull the horn of a train. They all stared at him and he pulled at the "train whistle" again, grinning like a goof.

"Mikey you idiot." Raph admonished, knocking his brother upside the head. The young turtle just kept grinning while he rubbed his head.

"Alright, alright you guys, let's go." Leo shook his head at his brothers and brushed past Mikey to the door, opening it slowly.

They wandered into a room no bigger than a closet containing only a water heater and a small cot covered in a heavy lavender blanket. They all glanced at it, knowing whose it was, before moving slowly to the main room beyond.

The bar was a wreck, stools and tables were in pieces all around the floor and there was a large group of Purple Dragons tied up around a pillar in the corner with their familiar leader off in an opposite corner sporting a darkening black eye.

"Hey guys!" Leo jumped and reached for his Katana handles before recognizing Casey a few feet away, waving them over to the few bar stools that were still standing. Leo sighed and lead his brothers and April over to their friend that was holding ice covered in a bar rag over his still-bleeding lip.

"You want me to take a look at that?" Donnie smirked, raising an eyebrow at how April rushed passed them to fuss over her boyfriend. Casey grabbed her hands in his to make her stop, smiling to show he was fine, before turning to the purple turtle and shaking his head.

"Nah, besides, if anyone needs a check-up from Dr. Donnie, it's Jane." Raph swung his head around from scanning the area for the mentioned lizard girl.

"Is she alright? Where is she?" His hands twitched towards his sai at the sight of the pile of bloodied gauze on the bar.

"She's in the back room" Casey jerked his thumb to indicate the room he was talking about. "Talking to Ben, the owner, before he meets you guys. Apparently it was a bit of a shock when he saw her." Casey shrugged and brought April's hand to his swollen lips, giving her a smirk. Mikey made a gagging noise and pretended to choke himself, dramatically staggering around the room. He chuckled and ducked to avoid the salt shaker the hockey player had hurled at his face with a half-serious 'Shut up, ya green pest'.

Donnie and Leo glanced at each other at the display, but Raph wasn't paying attention. He was avidly watching the beaded curtains Casey had pointed out, hands resting on his weapons, fingers tapping impatiently. Leo rested a hand on his shoulder.

"You know, if she was really hurt, Casey would've said something…" He was cut off as the curtains parted and revealed Jane with a man who had his arm around her shoulder, laughing as they crossed the threshold. She detangled herself from Ben just in time to be enveloped by two strong green arms.

"The shell were you thinking?" His breath stirred the hair on the back of her neck, warm and staggered as he shuddered in a breath.

"I…wasn't. Kinda had a blond moment." They both chuckled and she squeezed his shoulders reassuringly, and he loosed his grip, letting her go to hug Mikey who was impatiently bouncing on his toes behind them.

"You scared us dudette! We thought Stockman had you again."

"Sorry Mikey, I didn't mean to worry you guys…" He released her from his signature constrictor-hug and she turned to the other two brothers, giving them each a squeeze before turning back to April.

"How bad was it?" She began to fiddle with the hem of her new top, not sure if she was going to be scolded.

"Well," April sighed, turning from Casey to face her. "In all honesty, it wasn't noticed until about four hours ago. It has been a rough couple of days for you and the guys all thought you were hiding or with one of them. It was when Raph found your note and Don explained that he hadn't water proofed the shell cell you'd taken into the pool that they started to panic." Jane winced at the scene playing before her eyes.

"Then they got everyone together and came up with a plan. Casey and I would search topside while the guys searched below. We had been looking for about three and a half hours before Casey called and told us what happened, then we grouped a block away and came here." April reached out to pull Jane in for a hug. "It's been awhile since I've seen the guys that worried, even Mikey was serious and didn't make any jokes. You mean a lot to them, I hope you know that." They pulled apart to smile at each other, and April turned Jane to see Raph and Ben laughing about something.

"Some differently than others. We almost had to tie him up in Don's lab to keep him from going topside with Casey and I." Jane blushed and quickly turned back to April when Raph glanced at her. April grinned and turned back to Casey, gesturing for Jane to go and talk to the Red turtle. She turned back to see that the four turtles and Ben had moved over to the tied up goons, and were discussing how best to get them out of the bar.

"Alright, our best bet is to take em' all at once, so we just need to stuff em' into the shell raisa', and do a drop and run at the police station. Easy peasy." Raph shrugged, glancing over at Jane as she, April and Casey wandered over to them, Jane going over to Mikey and leaning into him as he pulled her into a side hug.

"Even with the shell raiser, it'll be a tight fit… But manageable if we only have two non-goons riding, and the rest running rooftops." Don glanced around at the amount of people in the club, and you could almost see an old calculator spew out paper as he crunched the numbers. He pressed a button resembling a garage door opener. "Truck'll be here in less than ten minutes."

"Don and Mikey will drive, Raph and I will flank you on either side of the street. The rest of you sit tight till we get back." Casey looked about to argue, but Leo held up his hand. "We need you here in case they set off a signal to their base and more come. It's not likely, but Jane is injured and even with the others, won't hold out long in a fight." Casey snapped his mouth shut and nodded.

"Now that that's settled, let's start tossing these losers in." Mikey grabbed four by the scruff of their collars and dragged them out of the front door to the awaiting armored van, his brothers following suit and soon, the leader was all that was left.

Ben, who had come up behind Jane to listen in, looked at her in confusion at the vehicle's sudden appearance. "One of Don's inventions." Was all she said before turning round, to go sit at the bar.

"These freaks can only protect you for so long, Jungle Queen, then you'll be back at the Shredder's for good." Jane whirled to find Phil leering at her, the gag he'd somehow managed to spit out hanging around his neck. "No matter how hard you try, no matter how long it takes, you will be back on that table awaiting your next injection, and I'll be there to…" He was cut off by a large green fist connecting with his jaw.

"Can't get anywhere near 'er if yer dead." Raph growled, putting a sai under Phil's chin, drawing a few drops of blood with the pressure he was using.

"That's enough, Raph." Leo roughly pulled his livid brother away, though he and Donnie were both glaring at Phil as though they wished to give him a few good hits themselves. "We don't kill, especially someone unarmed, no matter how tempting it may be." Leo flashed a weak smile at Jane, and she returned it before hesitantly approaching the group.

She eyed the bound boy as a trail of blood ran down the corner of his mouth, he smirked, enjoying the pain he saw in her eyes. Her expression remained neutral as she approached, but the twitching of her tail gave her away. She stopped in front of him, and her friends backed away slightly, not sure what to expect. Phil and Jane stared at one another for a long moment, his smug expression slipping as time passed, her neutral one hardening. She stepped forwarward, and he pulled back involuntarily. She paused, a wicked grin flashing across her features, before her hand flashed out to gather a fistful of his collar.

"You've been spewing quite a bit of threats, but now it's time for one of my own." Her face was set and her eyes like daggers, but her voice was dangerously clear. "You harm, or even come _near_ my family again, and I'll make you _wish_ for Stockman's table." For a moment, fear colored his eyes, then he tried to cover it with a weak smile.

"M-master Shredder will not stop until you all are dead or in his possession. It's only a matter of time." His voice quavered and his eyes flitted around, trying to avoid hers, but she only tightened her grip at his words.

"We shall see." She then turned on her heel, and dragged him out the door. The turtles scrambled out of her way, and watched in awe/fear as she chucked him into the shell raiser, slamming the door behind him, the van trembling at the force.

The turtles glance at each other in wonder, all turning to Raph questioningly. He sighed and squared his shoulders, before walking out to where Jane stood rooted to the spot, staring at the van's back doors. He tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder and she seemed to break, falling into his arms as if she'd lost control of her limbs. Her face was drawn, and she looked ready to sleep for a month. Raph led her back into the bar, sitting her down in a chair next to Donnie, who took her hand between his, rubbing circles with his thumb as the others grouped around her.

"...Alright, Casey? You and Mikey will ride in the Raiser while Raph and I run the rooftops. April, Jane, and Don will stay and monitor the scanners as well as help with cleanup. We'll be back in about half an hour." They all nodded at their leader and the drop-off team filed out the door, eyeing the street as they got into position. The Raiser screeched a little as it took off and Jane and april shared an eye roll at how predictable Casey could be. Jane felt much better, her outburst had drained her.

"Shall we get to work?" Jane smiled at April and nodded, getting up and patting Don's arm as she passed.


	22. Chapter 22

**_So, this is kind of just a filler chapter, but I have some new ideas to work with thanks to a friend. Enjoy even though it's short!_**

"Janie! Check this out!" The emerald teen's voice rang out at a volume that no self respecting ninja should even possess and Jane thanked the stars that it was just them out on patrol tonight.

"Hush Mikey, this isn't the lair! And we _are_ on patrol you know." He ignored her, flipping across the abnormally large gap between buildings, landing with a tuck and roll maneuver before striking a goofy pose and bowing. He looked up and expectantly gestured toward the roof on which he stood. Drawing in a deep breath, she backed up before taking a running leap over the large gap, stumbling on the landing. Green arms shot out and grabbed her shoulders before she could crash to the floor.

"Thanks." She mumbled, embarrassed at needing his help. It had been a month since the incident at the tenth ring and she'd been training almost non stop with the guys, trying her best to keep from being a burden. Now here she was, unable to make a simple jump and having to be doted on. How pathetic.

"Aww, come on Janie, you're doing great. That was a big jump! It took years for us to be able to stick a landing like that!" Jane smiled at the green boy she'd come to think of as a little brother. She knew he was exaggerating for her benefit, but appreciated it nonetheless.

"It's almost quarter past three, should we head back?"

"Yeah... Leo and Raph are probably wearing holes into the lair's floor right about now." He snickered at the mental image, and patted her on the back before leading the way to the alley nearest the lair. As they began to approached the roof's lip, Jane grabbed Mikey's belt, yanking him to the ground.

"What the-" She clamped a hand over his mouth, and he quieted, nodding to assure her he understood. She removed her hand and pointed to the ledge, crawling to it herself-towards the shuffling sound that had caused her to startle. Peeking over the edge, they saw an… empty alley.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Mikey breathily whispered, tickling her ear. She glowered and brushed off the feeling with her shoulder, scanning the seemingly vacant passage.

"I know I heard _something_ like… like… like _that_!" She almost laughed out loud. A small brown bag was awkwardly rolling around on the ground, a white tipped tail poking out, haphazardly fanning back and forth.

"What _is_ that?" Mikey stared at it, not comprehending what was tumbling about in the street.

"Nothing to be worried about." She giggled, hopping over the roof's edge eagerly approaching the oddity. Jane could hear the terrapin scramble after her as she approached the struggling animal.

"Still, the guys will skin me alive if I let something happen to you… Not that you can't handle yourself." He quickly backed off, hands raised in surrender at the murderous look she shot him. A small indignant yip sounded from behind her and she whipped around to pick up the wriggling package and pull the damp paper away to reveal a small, damp ball of fur.

"A puppy!" Mikey squealed, yanking it from Jane's hands and crushing it to his plastron.

"Careful, it's still just a baby, Mikey. And it looks as if it's been out here for a while, it could be hurt." He instantly let up on the crushing embrace to check the squirming pup for injuries-only to get a faceful of the stream that spouted from the creature in its excitement.

It took a full minute and a half before Jane could stifle her laughter long enough to hold the small k9 and allow her scowling friend to clean himself up, cuddling it to her chest in an attempt to avoid it's persistent attempts to lick her face.

"Well," She chuckled, "I think it's safe to say it's a boy." Mikey shot her a look before turning a wary eye to the dog. It gave him a ridiculously cute yip as it struggled to free itself from Jane's arms.  
"What do you suppose we do with it?" He asked, giving in and tickling its belly with a grin.

"Take it with us of course, you aren't honestly suggesting we take it to a pound, or worse- leave it here- are you?" She gave him an incredulous look, having thought he would be the last to think of parting with the adorable pup.

"No… but what about the others? You know at least Leo will fight it." He seemed offended at her implications, while trying to seem uncharacteristically logical.

"It's a dog, what harm can it do?" She pressed the animal closer to her and kissed its head.

"You haven't been here long enough to know the guys like I do, they'll never go for it. Once I brought home a baby gator I found in the sewers, and they wouldn't even consider it! Not even Don, and he tends to be on my side more than anyone!" He pouted, crossing his arms in indignation, and looked to his reptilian sister for empathy.

"Yeah, they told me about that. When you say "baby gator", you really mean gigantic beast intent on eating the lair." She giggled.

"Little Raphie was just teething!"

"Well, even though this little guy will probably chew his fair share of Master Splinter's sandle's, I don't think it'll match up to the beds and couch demolished in less than an hour by "Little Raphie". Jane reasoned, laughing at the fitting name Mikey had given his "pet".

"Come on, let's go home and introduce our new friend to the others." She gathered up the now shivering pup into a ball of fur against her chest. It was growing cold as the days past and the poor thing was soaked. Mikey nodded, still apprehensive about how his brothers would take it, but not willing to argue further, he knew from personal experience how scary Jane could be when she wanted.

"Aww man! Jane! That dumb pup a' yers' made another mess…" He wrinkled his nose at the smell and looked down at the wagging abomination staring at him with the biggest brown eyes. "Don't look at me like that, I ain't givin' you bupkiss. You're her pet, not mine." He turned from the creature to look for Jane, but it blocked his path, big ears flopping into its face. It yipped and got down on his front paws, tail wagging and wanting to play.

"Nah uh, no way. I ain't playin' with ya, I don't like you! I tolerate you because I have to, nothin' more." He glared at the pup, trying to scare it off, but it yipped again and ran over to tease him into playing. He tripped over his velvet ears and tumbled end over end to land on his back against Raph's leg.

Raph chuckled against his will at the silly hound and glanced around to make sure he was alone before stooping to scoop it up. He grinned, tickling the brown speckled belly, and laughed at the baby yips that the dog let forth at the sensation. The pup wriggled out of Raph's hold and lunged for his face, licking at every inch of it he could reach.

"Ha ha… Why you!... Bleck! No frenchin' you little creetin!... Ha ha ha!... Stop it you!..." Raph struggled with the pup, trying to keep it away, but not truly minding the little fur ball's attention.

"I knew those two would hit it off…" Jane grinned from her hiding place in the shadows, paper towels and cleaner in hand.


	23. Chapter 23

_**I know it's short, but the next one wont be!**_

Chapter Twenty Three: Home at Last

Jane felt more at home in her own skin than she had in months, since before even meeting her new family, even. She no longer felt like life was throwing wave after wave of reality at her, never allowing her to gather her feet under her before the next one came crashing in. She was now completely healed, and learning more than ever at the hand of Master Splinter and her new brothers.

She even went to the surface with them, April, and Casey twice a month to hang out at the Tenth Ring with Ben. She had given him her number before leaving after the fight with Phil, and he'd texted her a week later saying he'd closed the bar to allow all of them to come and hang. (ok, so it was Don's number as her phone still needed repairs, but still… It was fixed now anyway). It had quickly become a tradition to go and challenge each other to the ring, drink all of Ben's soda, and just talk all night (especially Ben and Splinter, they'd become fast friends as they were "surrounded by all these youngins'" as Ben put it).

About a week after returning to the lair, the guys surprised her with her very own room. It was at the end of the hall that also housed the guy's rooms, nestled in between Mikey's pig sty and the bathroom. They had originally used it to store all the junk that they'd collected over the years, but had put what they wanted to keep in a corner at April's and tossed the rest. They had painted it an almost cream lilac color, and had built a bed and dresser from recycled wood they had found, topping it off with her blanket from the fight club, and some framed pictures they had all taken together. It was her favorite place in the lair, and she couldn't stop crying and hugging them the whole day after they had showed her. She now had the dresser mostly filled, thanks to April, and had even added a bookshelf that was slowly losing space due to all the adventure novels Don helped her get.

Her day's had fallen into a into a schedule of getting up early for meditating with Leo in the morning before lessons, then fixing breakfast with Mikey afterwards. She'd then sometimes tinker around in the lab with Don, asking about what this did, or why that had to go there and not there (His answer? "...Wait, that _would_ work more efficiently there! It would totally fix the problem of having to go in and clean off the the wires once a month because of being too close to the exhaust, you're a genius Jane!" _Ha! Of course I am, score for Jane!_ )

Master splinter and her would normally go into the Dojo on their own around noon so he could train her one on one with her tail and how to control it. She would spend about two to three hours running drills with him or Raph, who always watched from the side, ready to be an opponent if needed. Down time was always a toss up of skateboarding around the pipes (They were vehement that she learn them by heart after the scare she gave them...), video games, reading, or girl time with April (she insisted that it was essential once a week detoxing from living with all the boys).

She and Raph had just finished a long spar, that actually ended in her sweeping his legs out from underneath him with her tail, allowing her to go in for the "kill". It was the first match she'd won with any "on purpose" use of her tail, and she was ecstatic.

"Well done my daughter." Splinter smiled at her as she helped Raph up. "Your training is coming along very well, as is your confidence." She blushed at the compliment, and accepted it with a timid bow.

"I can't thank you enough for your help, Master; and allowing me to stay here with all of you." Raph shot her a grin and bumped her shoulder with his before leaving the Dojo with a bow of his own.

" You will always be welcome here, my child. You have become an essential part of this team, and this family." Her face split into an ever bigger grin (if possible), and she ran at the large rat with teary eyes, grasping him in a tight embrace.

He chuckled, returning the hug, before patting her back and excusing her from the lesson. He watched her go with watery eyes of his own, thinking how big his little family had gotten.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four: Something There

Raph was waiting for her as she exited the shower after the session with him and Master Splinter, absent mindedly toweling her hair dry.

"Something on your mind, Red?" She asked, taking in his darkened cheeks and fidgeting as he leaned against the wall opposite her.

"Oh, uh… yeah. Ya see… It's Leo and Don's night for patrol, right? So I was gonna… I mean, I was just wonderin'... if you aint got nothin' else in mind, that is...if you'd wanna go for a ride on my bike… with me?" His arms waved around wildly trying to help his point get across through all the blathering, and he looked so much like a panicked mime, she burst out laughing.

His cheeks turned red as tomatoes, and he spun on his heels, attempting to make a run for it.

"N-no, wait!" She grabbed his arm and tried to stifle the remaining giggles. "Raph, I'm sorry, you just startled me, and you were so cute and out of character, I couldn't help it." She flashed him a sweet smile, and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'd love to go for a ride with you."

"Really?" He looked into her eyes, searching for mocking in the laughter that remained.

"Of course! Just let me find something to do with my hair and ask Mikey to watch Ninja for me, I'll meet you in the garage, ok?" She popped up onto her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before bounding off in the direction of her room.

Raph stood rooted to the spot, touching his tingling cheek with a goofy grin until he heard her door beginning to open again, and bolted for the garage before she could see him.

* * *

Jane couldn't believe it. Here she was, on the back of a tricked out (by Donnie, of course) motorcycle, cool wind drowning out the world's noise as she sped through the night, all with her arms around the sweetest guy she'd ever met. She wasn't oblivious to his rough exterior, she knew what he wanted others to see when they looked at him, a tough guy that could kick their butt without effort or second thought. But even when she'd first met him in an alley, surrounded by goons and ready to go down fighting-she'd seen the kindness behind those eyes, the fear of rejection simply because of how he looked. He'd jumped into the fray without a thought, because a stranger needed his help, he'd risked his life helping her, and had taken her to his home when she'd been injured. She remembered how (more than once) he'd scooped her up and held her tight to his hard chest when she'd reached the end of her rope and broke down into tears. He'd murmured to her through the sobs how she was going to get through it, because she was more than strong enough, and he'd be there no matter what.

She couldn't believe that someone like him existed in the world, let alone that fate had seen fit to place him in her life. And as much as she could see through his tough-guy shell ( _ **Yes, pun intended**_ ) she couldn't seem to see how he felt about her as… _more than a friend_. Oh man... Just _thinking_ about it make her blush!

She let out a quiet groan in exasperation, _I'm done for_. She thought that going through all the crap Phil had seen fit to throw her way, she'd never be able to trust someone with those kind of feelings again, but she honestly felt as if her heart hadn't given her much choice in the matter. He'd snuck over the walls she'd put up over the years like the ninja he was and swiped what was already his. _But did he want it?_ She sighed at the pointless never-ending train of thought, and realized that she'd probably been spacing for almost an hour.

She looked up, examining the scenery around them and realized that they were no longer flying passed buildings, but trees, creating a mesmerizing emerald blur. The fuzziness of the scene came steadily into focus, and she realized that they were stopping at a stoplight, even though there wasn't a sign of anyone else around for miles.

"Raph…?" Jane popped the visor on her helmet and tapped the shoulder she was previously leaning on, trying to get the owner's attention. He tapped the side of his helmet, raising his own visor to allow more sound in/out.

"Yeah?" He turned toward her, ignoring the stop light as it flashed green.

"Where are we going?" She had been simply enjoying the cool wind on her arms as she clung to Raph and spaced out, but it was getting late and they hadn't given Mikey a time frame of when they'd be back, and she really didn't want a lecture from Leo.

"Well, actually, I didn't really have anywhere specific in mind… Was just kinda driving." He blushed when he looked around and realized that they had gone a lot further than he had meant to, but her arms around his waist were kinda distracting…He moved the bike over to the side of the road and turned off the engine. They took a moment to look around, trying to figure out where they were exactly.

"Oh…" He mumbled, surprised.

"What?" she asked, turning her attention back to him absentmindedly, as she had been admiring the full moon and the silver shine it gave the trees.

"I think we're on the road to Casey's cabin… Musta' just subconsciously started this way…" He mused, glancing back at her.

"Casey has a cabin?" She looked at him incredulously, trying to imagine her hockey-obsessed friend relaxing in the woods.

"Well, it was kinda an heirloom, from his grandma. We've been there a few times to get away from the city, it's kinda nice, actually." _When you're not hiding your older brother after a near death experience with The Shredder._ He thought, and suddenly, he was back in his dream that he'd been reliving ever since that night. He'd been waking up in a similar fashion as to that night and taking an hour or so in his room to recompose himself...no one had caught him after that morning with Don and Mikey. The images came without permission or warning, his family and friends crying out to him, and him not being able to do a thing.

"Raph… are you ok?" A hand touched his shoulder, and he jumped about a foot. He looked back to find Jane giving him a worried look. "You were spacing out with this awful look on your face… and you were shaking." He stared at her, Don's advice running laps in his head.

"Y-yeah… It's just this dream I've been havin'..." He scratched the back of his neck, glad that the helmet was covering his blush.

"You seemed pretty freaked… Wanna talk about it?" She gave him a smile that melted his brain, and suddenly, he lost all nerve.

"Nah… It's no biggie, just a scary movie me and the others watched, can't seem to forget it." He gave a fake laugh and plastered on a smile in hopes of getting her to believe one of the worst excuses he'd ever uttered. One look at her face, however, told him she didn't buy it for a second. She studied his face as it dropped, shoulders slumping… He looked like Ninja when she got after him for chewing on the furniture. She sighed, deciding to let it go.

"Well, now that you know where we are, maybe we should head back? We didn't really tell the others how long we were expecting to be out, so they might get worried if we're gone for much longer…" Relief flooded his face at the change of topic, and he nodded, rolling the bike back onto the road, facing home.

Before he started the motorcycle up, she tapped him once again, and he leaned his head towards her to let her know he was listening. "You know I'm always here for when you want to talk, right?" He paused, thinking it over, and was honestly touched at the way she could read him like a book. He turned all the way around to link eyes with her, smiling at the blush that peeked over the hard plastic covering her mouth.

"Thanks Janie." He watched as the blush spread, and started to laugh at her discomfort. She glared playfully and reached up to release her helmet's visor, leaving him with his own laughing face reflected back at him, making him only laugh harder. After a minute, he faced forward and lowered his own visor, starting the pair off towards home with a roar of the engine. The grin never left his face the whole ride back.


	25. Chapter 25

**_Ok kiddies, here's the dealy-o - I haven't really been updating at all recently mainly because I've been hella depressed. I'm doing through a lot of shit right now that I don't want to get into, but just so you know, it's there and I'm not ignoring this for no reason. Along the lines of depression, I've found that writing is something that helps, so I'm trying to find the want to continue this. I wont make any promises I can't keep, but I am trying. Without further ado, chapter 25..._**

Chapter Twenty Five: Results

Jane awoke to Ninja's incessant kisses showering her face, as was per normal ever since she got the little scamp. Though she really only had herself to blame for being so lenient with the sleeping arrangements.

She'd originally tried to get him to sleep in his own bed (an old couch pillow and blanket), but the first night proved to be much tougher than she'd thought. She'd set up his bed near the foot of hers and tucked him into the blanket, before going to bed herself. It took all of two minutes for the pup to wriggle out of his covers, and fall off of the chair at the end of her bed in an attempt to join her. She sighed and got up, admonishing the ball of fur as she again readied him for sleep - only to have him actually make it onto the chair, and from there her bed. She gave up on keeping him in his own bed after the seventh try. He wriggled his way into her blankets, letting his little nose poke out falling asleep almost immediately. She rolled her eyes but settled in next to him, and cuddled the little furball close before falling asleep herself. That was how Leo had found her the next morning when he'd gone to wake her for their meditation session. He'd been unable to bring himself to wake her, instead taking a picture of the sleeping pair. That shot now sat framed on her dresser and made her smile whenever she looked at it.

"Ok, ok, I'm up." She grumbled, prying the small hound from her face and getting dressed for the day She led the bouncing pup to the door, opening it and allowing him out. He raced out and nearly knocked over Raph in the process.

"Hey! Watch it mutt!" He grouched, teetering on a leg trying to avoid stepping on the small ball of energy before straightening up and looking over at Jane.

"M-Morning." He smiled while turning a lovely shade of pink.

"Good Morning Raph." Jane giggled, blushing a little herself. She hadn't been able to go to sleep for almost an hour after going to bed last night, her mind too full of the bike ride and the broad shoulders she'd rested on.

They had gotten home pretty late, and were been greeted by the sight of Mikey dead to the world on the couch with some forgotten show running on the tv, and her pup half encased by a pizza box on the floor, scavenging for scarps. At the sound of the front door, Ninja jerked his head up and popped the lid off the box to reveal his pizza sauce covered ears and a wagging tail. Jane shook her head a the memory. What else did she expect from asking Mikey to dogsit?

"So, did you get any grief from the guys about being out late?" She asked, reaching down to pick up Ninja as he raced back to her and started yiping for attention.

"Just got up, so I haven't talked ta' Leo yet - not that it matters none, I… had fun." He gave her a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"I had fun too." She smiled at him, before grimacing at the near french kiss the squirming dog in her arms gave her.

"Jeez Louise, can't you wait five minutes?!" She asked in mock anger that quickly turned to a laugh as she was once again assaulted by puppy kisses. She turned to Raph once she'd successfully calmed the pup down.

"Sorry, I gotta take him out before he makes another mess. Could you let Leo know I'll be a bit late?" She playfully glared down at the dog "He likes taking his sweet time recently."  
"Let me take him." Raph offered, reaching out.

"You sure? He's all excited to go now, but it'll take him ten minutes to sniff everything and remember what he's supposed to be doing."

"No problem, I ain't got nothin' going on until our your tail training anyhow." He reach over the remaining distance and plucked the furball out of her arms, remembering not to allow it access to his face.

"Well, thanks Raph. Here's his leash and poop bags," She handed them over before rubbing Ninja's face affectionately. "You be good for Raph, ok?" He gave a yip in response and an enthusiastic tail wag. She smiled and turned to Raph, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks again." She said before heading off the the dojo.

Raph just stood there for a bit, staring after her retreating figure, before he was pulled out of his reverie by a certain orange banded brother.

"Awwww… Raphie and Janie, sittin' in a -" He ducked under a punch aimed at his head.

"- Tree, k-i-s-s-" Evaded a kick to his chest.

" - I-n-g!" He narrowly missed the sweeping kick aimed at his legs.

Ninja was going nuts with all the excitement, and seemed to be howling along with Mikey as he sang and jumped around.

"Shut up, Mikey!" Raph fummed, his cheeks still pink. "Oh come on! I know you like her! -" He ducked again, finding it easier to evade his brother the more flustered he got.

"And you two _were_ out pretty late last night…" He let it hang in the air, wiggling his eyebrows as he dodged another kick and ran off to the lab, laughing and singing 'Sitting in a tree' the whole way.

"Stupid Mikey… Doesn't know what he's talking about…" Raph grumbled all the way to the public area of the sewers, letting the Beagle down to snuffle around to his heart's content. It's a good thing no one was around to see that his cheeks were still a deep pink.

* * *

Jane and Leo were about thirty minutes into their meditation, when Donnie came crashing into the dojo. Both she and the blue turtle jumped and reached for their weapons.

"Jane! You need to come with me!" Don gasped, though his lab was only across the pond (literally), he was out of breath and sweaty.

"What is it, Don? News on Philip?" Leo asked, darting his eyes over to Jane to see if she reacted poorly to the name. They had learned that he had escaped from the jail a week ago, and no one had heard of him since. As of yet, Jane seemed to be dealing well with the news.

"No, much worse." He didn't give them any time for that to sink in, he grabbed Jane's wrist and pulled her with him at top speed back to his lab, Leo hot on their heels.  
Don didn't let go of Jane until they'd reached his desk than housed the three monitors, each displaying something different. One, Jane recognized as the ongoing research Don was doing on her DNA as she often would hover around him for a while after he brought her in for tests. The second screen showed similar charts, but for different people she'd never heard of before. And the Third showed a video chat with a creature she suspected was a "Utrom". She'd never met one of the brain aliens before, only heard stories from the guys. Don turned to the third screen.

"Mortu, I brought her." At his words, Jane stared at the creature that turned to meet her gaze.

"Hello, Miss. Jane, I have heard much of you. I apologize for the role our mutagen has played in your recent troubles." She just continued to stare at him for a moment before finding enough sense to say something.

"Oh… Um… I don't blame you… it was all Stockman and… uh… I mean, you guys helped me get out of that place, so… uh… Thank you?" She floundered.

"It was our pleasure, I only with we'd been quicker in your rescue." His face grew sad and she jumped in to reassure him.

"Oh, no! It's not all that bad, and I've gotten used to my tail!... Well the shedding is a little weird… but I learn to be fine with it! You really helped in getting me out!" She really didn't want this nice, odd looking, alien to feel responsible for what Stockman and Shredder did to her.

"I am glad that your new appearance does not trouble you as much as it might have… but there is something more to Stockman's experiment than we had originally thought. Something that even he couldn't have foreseen as you were the first of his experiments to survive the transformation…" Mortu looked nervously at Donnie for guidance on how to proceed. Jane turned to Donnie and her heart jumped into her throat at the absolutely terrified looked he was giving her.

"... Donnie?... What is it?"


End file.
